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Class  _r'7>4^ 

Book.i.Hi4^U_ 
Gop}Tight  N"  _ 

COFl'KIGHT  DEPOSrr. 


T  II  E 


History  ot  Melrose, 


(lounty  of  21IibMc5Cx, 


IHassact^usctts, 


BY 


ELBRIDGE  HENRY  GOSS, 


I'UnMSHKD    1?Y 

THE  CITY  OF  MKLROSK 
1902. 


THE  LIBRARY  OF 
CONGRESS, 

Two  Copies  R«c«iv«<l 

MAY  5  190? 

^  Cepyiight    EnVry 
CUSS    Ou   XXc  No. 
COPY  B. 


Copyright,  igoj 
By    Elbridge   Henry   Goss. 


MELROSK,  Mass.  : 
A.  W.   DuNTON  &  Co.,   rrinters. 


to 


PREFACE. 


MORE  or  less  had  been  written  about  the  History  of  Mel- 
rose, before  this  work  was  undertaken.  The  Town's 
action  in  the  Civil  War  I  had  recorded  in  The  Melrose 
Memorial:  The  Annals  of  Melrose,  in  the  Great  Rebellion  of 
l86l-6^,  published  in  1868;  a  short  history  of  the  town  pre- 
pared for  Samuel  Adams  Drake's  History  of  Middlesex  County, 
in  1880;  and  another  for  J.  W.  Lewis  &  Co.'s  History  of  Middle- 
sex Connty,  in  1890. 

Notwithstanding  this,  there  came  to  exist  a  desire  on  the 
part  of  many  citizens,  that  a  more  thorough  and  complete 
history  of  our  municipality  be  written.  Possibly  this  wish  was 
stimulated  by  the  near  approach  of  the  time  when  Melrose 
would  become  a  city,  and,  of  the  completion  of  the  first  half 
century  since  it  was  incorporated,  May  3,  1850.  But,  be  it 
remembered,  the  history  of  our  territory  reaches  back  over 
two  and  a  half  centuries. 

Early  in  the  year  1898,  in  accordance  with  this  often 
expressed  wish,  Franklin  P.  Shumway  obtained  the  following 
names  to  a  petition,  requesting  that  the  History  of  Melrose  be 
written: 

Franklin  P.  Shumway.  Allen  C.  Goss. 

Charles  H.  Adams.  Charles  A.  Patch. 

Mary  A.  Livermore.  Harry  W.  Sawyer. 

Moses  S.  Page.  Henry  M.  Sylvester. 

Levi  S.  Gould.  Joel  C.  Page. 

Sidney  H.  Buttrick.  George  L.  Morse. 

William  E.  Barrett.  Henry  A.  Leonard. 

Frank  W.  Hunt.  Fernando  C.  Taylor. 

Royal  P.  Barry.  Daniel  Norton. 

Leonard  S.  Leighton.  B.  Marvin  Fernald. 

Harry  A.  Batchelder.  Alonzo  G.  Whitman. 

John  Larrabee.  Rev.  Daniel  P.  Livermore. 

Wingate  P.  Sargent.  Rev.Thomas  Sims,  D.  D. 

Daniel  Russell.  Rev.  Burke  F.  Leavitt. 


vi  PREFACE. 

Oliver  A.  Roberts.  Rev.  Clifton  Fletcher. 

John  W.  Farwell.  Rev.  Joseph  K.Wilson, 

John  O.  Norris.  Rev.  George  N.  Howard, 

L.  Frank  Hinckley.  Alonzo  V.  Lynde. 

Benjamin  F.  Robinson.  Charles  H.  Isburgh. 

George  E.  Munroe.  Nathan  D.  Blake. 

Jesse  A.  Dill.  Dr.  Julius  S.  Clark. 

Norman  F.  Hesseltine.  Dr.  Ernest  S.  Jack. 

Curtis  C.  Goss.  Albert  B.  Franklin. 

Francis  S.  Hesseltine.  Alonzo  A.  Knights. 

Charles  C.  Barry.  Frank  L.  Washburn. 

John  Buffum.  Royal  B.  Leighton. 

Seth  E.  Benson.  George  L.  Wildes. 
George  C.  Stantial. 

The  next  action  was  taken  at  a  Town  Meeting,  held  April  4^ 
1898,  when  Mr.  Shumway  offered  a  vote  which  is  embodied  in 
the  following  letter: 

Town  Clerk's  Office. 

Melrose,  Mass.,  Apr.  21,  1898. 
Elbridge  H.  Goss,  Esq. 

Dear  Sir:  —  At  the  Annual  Town  Meeting  you  were  unanimously 
invited  to  write  a  history  of  the  Town  of  Melrose,  under  the  following 
vote : 

That  the  Town  invite,  and  authorize  Mr.  Elbridge  H.  Goss  to  write 
an  illustrated  history  of  the  Town  of  Melrose.  That  the  Town  grant 
him  full  access  to,  and  the  privilege  of  copying  or  reproducing  any 
records,  maps,  illustrations,  &c.,  from  the  Town  records  and  files,  that 
he  may  desire,  on  the  condition  that  he  shall  not  receive  any  compen- 
sation from  the  Town  for  his  services. 

Respectfully  yours. 
Attest:  W.  DeHaven  Jones, 

Town  Clerk,  pro  tern. 

The  task  thus  imposed  upon  me,  in  such  a  complimentary 
manner,  by  both  town  and  citizens,  became  a  command  ;  and, 
although  undertaken  with  some  hesitancy,  has  proven  to  be  a 
pleasant  work;  and  I  have  executed  it  to  the  best  of  my 
ability.  It  is  now  submitted  to  my  fellow-citizens  with  the 
hope  that  the  record  is  one  which  they  may  peruse  with  some 
degree  of  pleasure  and  satisfaction. 

For  very  many  items  concerning  the  early  history  of  the 
town   of  which   the   "North    End"  or  "North    Maiden"  was 


PREFACE. 


Vll 


quite  an  important  part,  I  am  indebted  to  that  very  excellent 
History  of  Maiden,  recently  issued,  by  Deloraine  P.  Corey;  a 
most  thorough,  exact  and  pains-taking  historian;  one  who  is 
full  of  antiquarian  zeal,  who  possesses  a  masterly  knowledge 
of  the  local  affairs  of  his  native  town,  and,  withal,  who  controls 
the  '•  pen  of  a  ready-writer."  For  these  reasons  the  citizens  of 
Maiden  are  in  possession  of  a  work  of  superior  value;  one  they 
may  well  take  pride  in. 

I  wish  to  acknowledge  my  indebtedness  to  the  papers  and 
memoranda  left  by  the  late  Artemas  Barrett;  although  in  a 
somewhat  disconnected  and  unsatisfactory  state,  still  I  never 
could  have  written  what  I  have  about  the  original  families  that 
occupied  this  territory  without  the  aid  thus  rendered.  Other 
citizens  have  aided  with  documents,  facts  communicated,  and 
old  papers;  among  them  Hon.  Levi  S.  Gould,  George  A. 
Fuller,  Maurice  G.  Cochrane,  Edwin  C.  Gould  and  the  late 
D.  Alvin  Lynde. 

For  the  photographs  for  the  half-tone  illustrations,  I  am 
indebted  to  several  of  my  fellow  citizens;  among  them,  Dr. 
John  Dike,  Walter  C.  Stevens,  Walter  L.  Wedger,  Dexter 
Pratt,  Rev.  Edwin  C.  Bolles,  D.  D.,  Henry  Lynde,  Hon.  Levi 
S.  Gould,  William  R,  Lavender,  Archie  B.  Mcllwraith,  William 
L.  Kirmes  and  William  L.  Kershaw;  and  to  Charles  H.Adams 
for  the  use  of  a  number  of  plates  from  Melrose:  Town  and  City . 
For  kindly  aid  I  am  also  indebted  to  our  City  Clerk, 
W.  De  Haven  Jones,  and  his  assistant,  Victor  C.  Kirmes;  and 
to  many  of  the  officers  of  our  various  institutions  my  ackowl- 
edgements  are  due. 

The  history  having  been  written  the  next  thing  to  be  done 
was  its  publication.  A  committee  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen, 
consisting  of  Oliver  B.  Munroe,  William  A.  Carrie  and  Edward 
S.  Page,  having  been  appointed  to  consider  the]  matter,  made 
its  report  June  9,  1902,  which  was  accepted  and  adopted.  It 
embodied  the  following  vote: 

Be  it  ordered,  That  the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred  dollars  is  hereby 
appropriated  for  the  printing,  publication  and  sale,  under  the  direction 
of  the  Trustees  of  the  Public  Library,  of  one  thousand  copies  of  a 
History  of  Melrose,  compiled  b}-  Elbridge  H.  Goss;  that  the  aforesaid 
amount  so  appropriated  is  for  a  temporary  loan  and  in  anticipation  of 
the  taxes  of  the  municipal  year  of  the  city  of  Melrose,  commencing 
January  i,  1902,  and  is  expressly  payable  therefrom;  that  the  treasurer 


viii  PREFACE. 

is  authorized  and  directed  to  borrow  the  sum  of  fifteen  hundred 
dollars  for  the  purpose  aforesaid  and  make  and  deliver  therefor  a  note 
or  notes  of  the  city  of  Melrose  payable  in  not  exceeding  one  year  from 
the  date  thereof  at  a  rate  of  interest  not  exceeding  four  per  cent. ;  and 
that  all  moneys  received  from  the  sale  of  said  work,  after  the  payment 
to  the  city  of  whatever  sum  of  money  may  be  expended  in  the  publi- 
cation of  this  work,  and  the  payment  of  a  reasonable  selling  commis- 
sion, shall  be  used  by  said  Trustees  for  the  purchase  of  books  for  the 
Public  Library. 

In  accordance  with  this  vote  the  Trustees  of  the  Public 
Library  made  a  contract  with  the  house  of  A.  W.  Dunton  &  Co. 
for  the  printing  and  publication  of  the  work,  which  was  dated 
June  30,  1902;  to  which  date  this  History,  as  regards  our  local 
institutions  has  been  completed. 

Melrose  is  the  youngest  city  in  the  Commonwealth  of  Massa- 
chusetts. From  a  small,  sparsely  settled  town,  it  has  grown, 
during  its  little  more  ^than  a  half  century,  to  be  an  influential 
city  of  more  than  thirteen  thousand  inhabitants.  Its  history 
as  a  municipality  has  been  eminently  patriotic,  noble  and 
prosperous.  Honesty  and  integrity  have  characterized  its 
citizens.  Its  religious  and  educational  interests  are  well 
established  and  liberally  sustained.  May  the  coming  years  be, 
by  God's  good  guidance,  equally  blessed  with  peace,  happiness 
and  prosperity. 

Elbridge  H.  Goss. 

Melrose,  June  30,  1902. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 
Early  Exploration. 

Pagb 

Captain  John  Smith's  voyage  of  1614 — His  description  of  New 
England  —  Visits  of  other  navigators  —  The  Northmen  —  Myles 
Standish  —  New  England  grants  —  Inland  exploration  —  Our 
territory  visited  —  The  Spragues  —  Description  by  Gov.  Win- 
throp,  Rev.  Francis  Higginson,  Thomas  Morton,  and  others  — 
Home  of  Nanepashemit  and  other  Indians i 

CHAPTER    II. 

Territory. 

Charlestown  subdivided  —  Territory  deeded  by  Squaw  Sachem 
and  Webcowet — Mystic  Side  incorporated  as  Maiden ^ — The 
Commons  divided  —  Greenwood  set  ofif  to  Reading,  the  High- 
lands to  Stoneham  —  Melrose  incorporated  —  Its  territory  — 
Summits  —  Cascades  —  Ponds  —  Villages  —  Railroads  —  Our 
names — Deprivations  of  early  settlers 10 

CHAPTER   III. 

Roads,  Streets  and  Highways. 

First  road,  Winnesemett  to  Reading —  Petition  of  Thomas  Lynde 
for  change  of  location  —  Tufts  1795  map  —  Roads  laid  out  — 
Streets  —  Sidewalks  —  Picture  of  in  former  days         .         .         .41 

CHAPTER    IV. 

Old  Families  and  Homesteads. 

The  Lyndes  —  Spragues  —  Greens  —  Barretts  —  Uphams  —  How- 
ards—  Vintons — Emersons  —  Boardmans  —  Hemenway  .         .     58 


X  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  V. 

Ecclesiastical  History. 

Page 
The  First  Methodist   Episcopal   Church  —  Orthodox    Congrega- 
tional   Church  —  Highlands     Congregational    Church  —  First 
Baptist   Church  —  Fells    Baptist   Church  —  Highlands   Baptist 
Church  —  First  Free  Baptist  Church  —  First  Universalist  Church 

—  Trinity  Episcopal  Church  —  Unitarian  Congregational  Soci- 
ety—  Liberal  Christian  Union  Church — ^  Saint  Mary  of  the 
Annunciation  Church — ^  Old-time  Church  Going        .         .         .136 

CHAPTER  VI. 

Educational  History. 

Early  Maiden  Schoolmasters  —  First  School  —  Nathaniel  Jenkins, 
Jr.  —  First  Schoolhouse  —  Robert  Gerry  —  Old  High  School  — 
Franklin  —  Whittier  —  Converse  —Ripley  —  Lincoln —  Wash- 
ington —  New  High  School  —  Dedication  —  Maker  Tablet  — 
School  Committees 185 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Military  History. 

Wars — French  and  Indian  —  King  Philip's  —  King  William's  — 
Drafting  —  The  Revolution  —  Maiden's  patriotic  Resolutions 
and  Instructions  —  The  Lexington  Alanii  —  Rolls  of  Minute- 
Men  Companies  —  Service  of  North  Maiden  men  —  The  Civil 
War,  The  Great  Rebellion  of  1861-5 — Town  Action — First 
enlistments — Rallying  Committee  —  Recruiting  Committees  — 
Drafts  —  War  subscriptions  —  Number  of  men  furnished  — 
Suiplus  —  Relief  of  soldiers  and  their  families  —  Various  con- 
tributions—  Roll  of  soldiers  and  sailors  —  Minute-men  medals 

—  Battery  C.  —  Spanish- American  War —  Army  enlistments  — •   ' 
Navy  enlistments  —  Army  Christian  Commission  —  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
Army  Christian  Commission 206 

CHAPTER   Vlfl. 
Military  Organizations. 

U.  S.  Grant  Post  4,  G.  A.  R.  —  Letter  of  U.  S.  Grant  —  Memorial 
services  —  Veteran  bounty  bill  —  Woman's  Relief  Corps  No.  16 

—  William  Francis  Barry  Camp  No.  79,  Sons  of  Veterans  — 
Ladies'  Aid  Society,  No.  23  —  Soldiers'  memorials — Soldiers' 
monument      .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         .         -254 


CONTENTS.  xi 

CHAPTER   IX. 
First  and  Last  Town  Meeting. 

Page 

First  meeting   May  6,  1850^  Town   officers — Salaries  —  Town 
meetings  —  Last  meeting  Nov.  9,  1899  —  Final  action         .        .  264 


CHAPTER  X. 

City  of  Melrose. 

Action  contemplating  change  from  town  to  city  —  Legislative 
action — -Charter  granted — First  election  —  Officers  elected  — 
Second  and  third  elections  —  Officers  elected — License  Question  268 


CHAPTER   XL 

Town  and  City  Officers. 

Provisions  of  city  charter  —  Town  moderators  —  Gould  testimo- 
nials—  List  of  selectmen  —  Town  and  city  clerks— Treasurers — 
Collectors  —  Auditors  — -Town  and  City  counsel —  Sinking  fund 
commissioners  —  Registrars  of  voters  —  Members  of  Congress 
—  Senators  —  Representatives- — Other  officers  .        .        .        .277 


CHAPTER  XIL 

Spot  Pond  Water  Works. 

Spot  Pond  Water  Company  franchise  —  Commissioners  —  Contract 
for  works  —  List  of  water  bonds  — Sinking  fund — Franchise 
damages  —  High  service  system  —  Metropolitan  water  system  — 
Town  action  —  Settlement  correspondence 290 

CHAPTER  Xin. 

Sewerage. 

Metropolitan  sewerage  system  act  —  Town  action  —  Sewer  com- 
missioners —  Sewer  bonds  —  Table  of  sewers  built  —  Cost  ap- 
portionment — ■  Cost  of  sewer  system  —  Miles  constructed  — 
Sinking  fund — Annual  payments 3°' 


xii  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Drainage  and  Health. 

Page 
The  Dyer  dam  trouble  —  Town  action  —  Legislative  action,  1 869 

—  County  commissioners'  hearings  —  No  damages  awarded  — 
Spot  and  Ell  pond  brooks  widened  and  deepened  —  Further 
town  action  —  Correspondence  —  Legislative  action  invoked  — 
Surface  drainage  system  instituted  —  Board  of  Health  estab- 
lished—  Members — Good  health  of  Melrose      .         .         .         .307 

CHAPTER  XV. 

Parks  and  Boulevards. 

Home  Association  lands— The  Melrose  Common  —  Park  com- 
missioners elected  —  Barry  Park  —  Sewall  Woods  Park  —  Ell 
Pond  Park  —  New  boulevard  proposed  —  Park  properties  — 
Middlesex  Fells 3^8 

CHAPTER  XVI. 

Cemeteries. 

The  Village  Burial  Ground  —  Wyoming  Cemetery  —  Pratt  Farm 

—  Cemetery  trust  funds  —  Jewish  Cemetery        ....  328 

CHAPTER  XVII. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association. 

The  first  association  —  Present  one  organized  —  Y.  M.  C.  A. 
Building  — Woman's  AuxiUary  —  Fairs 33^ 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
The  Melrose  Hospital  Association. 

Organization  and  Ofificers—  Fairs  —  Hospital  Sundays  —  Hospi- 
tal Guild  —  Hospital  Home  —  Nurses'  Home  .         .         .341 

CHAPTER  XIX. 

Public  Lihrary. 

When  and  how  founded  —  Franklin  Fraternity  Gift— Trustees- 
Donations  —  Bequests  —  The  Carnegie  Gift— Site  chosen  for 
new  library 2)y> 


CONTENTS.  xiii 

CHAPTKR   XX. 

LlTKRARY    AND    MUSICAL    ASSOCIATIONS. 

Page 
The  Franklin  Fraternity— Shakespeare  Club  — Woman's  Club- 
Highlands  Woman's  Club  —  Education  Society  — Roundabout 
Club  —  Unit}^  Club  —  Centennial  Club  —  Avon  Club  —  Melrose 
Lyceum  —  Amphion  Club  —  Choral  societies  —  Bands  —  Orches- 
tras—Geraldine  Farrar —  Walter  Emerson         .         .         .         -355 

CHAPTER   XXI. 

Bibliography. 

Adams  —  Austin  —  Babson  —  Burnham  —  Dorchester  —  Drake  — 
Eddy  —  Gooch  —  Hey  wood  —  Kidder  —  Leigh  ton  —  Livermore 
—  Lockwood  —  Nash  —  Noyes  —  Peck  —  Pool  —  Roberts  — 
Sewall  —  Torrey  —  Wright  —  Gould  —  Melrose  Bibliography     .  367 

CHAPTER   XXH. 

Newspapers. 

The  Melrose  Advertiser  —  Melrose  Journal  —  Melrose  Reporter  — 
Free  Press  —  Enterprise 3^3 

CHAPTER  XXHL 
Fire  and  Police  Departments. 


388. 


The  Old  Endeavor  Engine—  The  Grundy  Hose  Co.  —  N.  D.  Blake 
Hose  Co.  — Gamewell  alarm  system  —  Central  Fire  Station- 
Steam  fire  engine  —  Hose  companies  —  Police  officers  —  Police 
association 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 

City  Hall,  Clocks  and  Seals. 

Cost  of  hall—  Dedication  —  Flagg  Staff  —  First,  second  and  third 
town  clocks  —  Water  Bond   seal  —  Town  seals  —  City  seal        .  394 

CHAPTER  XXV. 

Various  Institutions. 

Melrose  Savings  Bank  — Melrose  National  Bank— Melrose  Co- 
operative Bank  — Post  Offices  — Street  railroads  —  lelegraph 
—  Telephone  —  Street  lights  —  Electric  light  plant  —  Pounds  — 
Field  drivers  —  Fence  viewers— Stone  crushers  — Drinking 
fountains "* 


xiv  CONTENTS. 

CHAPTER   XXVI. 
Charitable  and  Improvement  Associations. 

Page 

Melrose  Charitable  Association  —  Board  of  Associated  Charities 

—  Melrose  Improvement  Society  —  Highlands  Improvement 
Association 411 

CHAPTER   XXVII. 

Anniversaries. 

The  50th  Anniversary —  looth  Anniversary  —  Maiden's  250th  An- 
niversary —  Old  Home  week  —  Dedication  soldiers'  monument  .415 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Temperance  Matters. 

Early  action  —  Siloam  Temple  of  Honor  —  Siloam  Social  Temple 

—  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union — St.  Mary's  Catho- 
lic Total  Abstinence  Society —  Early  votes  of  Maiden        .         .  425 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Societies  —  Associations  —  Clubs. 

Freemasons  —  Odd  Fellows  —  Daughters  of  Rebekah  —  Athletic 
Club  — Melrose  Club  —  Highland  Club  — The  Stone  Fort  — 
Bellevue  Golf  Club  —  Daughters  of  the  American  Revolution 

—  Daughters  of  the  Revolution  —  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Maine 
— Amateur  Gardeners'  Society —  Boys'  Brigade —  Fraternal  and 
benevolent  societies      . 431 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

Political. 

Australian  ballot  —  Precincts  and  wards  —  Parties  —  Union  League 

—  Municipal  League  —  Public  Franchise  League        .         .         .  446 

CHAPTER   XXXI. 

Miscellaneous. 

Widening  of  Main  Street  —  List  of  signers  —  Eleanor  Brown 
Toothaker  Fund — -Memorial  services- — The  Stars  and  Stripes 

—  Curfew  bell  —  "  49ers  " —  Slavery  — •  Revolutionery  incidents 

—  The  Maiden  Beacon  —  Action  concerning  tea  —  Recruiting 
committee  —  Old  customs  —  Addenda 450 

APPENDIX. 

A.  Act  OF  Incorporation 477 

B.  Report  OF  Adjustment  Committee 478 

C.  Act  to  Annex  part  of  Stoneham  to  Melrose  .        .  482 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PORTRAIT  OF  THE  AUTHOR,  with  autograph  signature,  Frontispiece. 

Page 

THE  CASCADE.     From  plate  in  Metropolitan  Park  Commission- 
ers' Report  of  1903,  by  permission,  facing 26 

SPOT  POND  BROOK  CASCADE.     From  photograph  by  Archie 

B.  Mcllwraith 27 

THE  GOULD   HOMESTEAD,  at   Spot   Pond.     From    sketch   by 

Miss  Hannah  Lynde 34 

SPOT  POND  — 1876.     From  photograph  by  E.  C.  Swain,  facing     .         34 

SPOT  POND  — 1902.     From  Metropolitan  Commissioners' Report,         35 

PLAN  OF  MALDEN,  by  Peter  Tufts,  Jr.,  1795.  reduced.     By  per- 
mission of  Deloraine  P.  Corey 5° 

ENSIGN  THOMAS   LYNDE   HOMESTEAD— 1670.     From  pho- 
tograph by  Dr.  John  Dike       61 

BOSTON  RUBBER  SHOE  COMPANY'S  WORKS.     From    plate 

kindly  furnished  by  the  Company 67 

VIEWS    IN    PINE    BANKS    PARK.       From    plate   of  the   New 

England  Magazine ^° 

OLD  CORN,  OR  SAMP  MILL.     From  photograph  by  Archie  B. 

Mcllwraith ^9^ 

WARREN  LYNDE  HOMESTEAD.     From  photograph  by  Henry 

Lynde 72 

JOSEPH    LYNDE    HOMESTEAD.     From    photograph   by    Walter 

C.  Stevens 73 

JOHN  LYNDE  HOMESTEAD.     From   photograph  by  Robert  J. 

Chute 74 

OLD  JOHN  GREEN  HOMESTEAD.     From  daguerreotype,  kind- 
ness Dexter  Pratt 92 

PLATTERS  AND  WINE  GLASSES.     From  photograph  by  Rev. 

Edwin  C.  Bolles,  D.  D 93 

PARLOR  AND  CORNER  BUFFET.     From  photograph  by  Archie 

B.  Mcllwraith, 97 

OLD  AMOS  UPHAM    HOUSE.     From    photograph    by  Dr.  John 

T->-1  .  .  .Ill 

Dike 

INTERIOR  OF  AMOS  UPHAM  HOUSE.     From  photograph  by 

Mrs.  Addie  K.  Robinson, "3. 


X  V  i  ILL  US  TRA  TIONS. 

Page 
JESSE  UPH AM  HOUSE.  From  photograph  by  Dr.  John  Dike  .  115 
DOLLY    UPHAM    HOUSE.      From   photograph   by   William  R. 

Lavender jjg 

OLD  HOWARD  HOUSE.     From  photograph  by  Robert  J.  Chute       119 
PRATT  FARM  HOMESTEAD.     From  photograph  by  kindness  of 

Sidney  H.  Buttrick j2i 

RICHARDSON    HOUSE   AND    TOWER.     From  photograph    by 

Walter  L.  Wedger jjs 

VIEW  CORNER  FRANKLIN  AND   GREENWOOD  STREETS. 

From  photograph  by  Walter  L.  Wedger 126 

EZRA  VINTON  HOMESTEAD.     From  photograph,  kindness  of 

Miss  Sarah  A.  Chever J27 

INTERIOR  OF  EZRA  VINTON  HOUSE.     From  photograph   by 

Mrs.  Addie  K.  Robinson  .         .         .         .         .         ,         .         .128 

THE  CLEFT  BOULDER.      From  photograph  by  Archie  B.  Mc- 

Ilwraith j2q 

EZRA    WAITE    HOUSE.     From    plate,   kindness    of    Frank    A. 

Woodward j,2 

THE    EMERSON    TAVERN.      From   drawing   in   possession   of 

Charles  P.  Lynde j,, 

ABIJAH  BOARDMAN  HOUSE.     From  plate,  kindness  of  Frank 

A.  Woodward  ...........       i->c 

METHODIST  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH  AND  PARSONAGE.    From 

plate,  kindness  of  the  M.  E.  Church 140 

ORTHODOX  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.     From  oil  paint- 
ing by  T.  C.  Bartholomew 146 

ORTHODOX  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.    From  photograph 

by  A.  Shepherdson j^g 

BIRTHPLACE  OF  CHURCH.    From  plate,  kindness  of  Highlands 

Congregational  Church jc6 

HIGHLANDS    CONGREGATIONAL    CHURCH.      From   photo- 
graph by  A.  Shepherdson jcg 

FIRST    BAPTIST    CHURCH.     From  photograph  by  William  L. 

Kirmes      ............       162 

MELROSE  HIGLANDS  BAPTIST  CHURCH.     From  photograph 

by  A.  Shepherdson igr 

MELROSE   HIGHLANDS   FIRST   FREE   BAPTIST    CHURCH. 

From  photograph  by  A.  Shepherdson 167 

FIRvST    UNIVERSALIST    CHURCH.     From    plate,    kindness   of 

Charles  H.  Adams ito 

TRINITY  EPISCOPAL  CHURCH.     From  photograph  by  William 

R.  Lavender jy^ 

THE  MELROSE  ABBEY  STONE.     From  photograph  by  Archie 

B.  McUwraith l-g 


ILLUSTRATIONS.  xvii 

Page 
UNITARIAN  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH.    From  plate,  kind- 
ness of  the  Church         .  . 179 

vST.  MARY'S  CATHOLIC  CHURCH.     From    photograph   by    A. 

Shepherdson 182 

THE  JENKINS  DESK.    From  photograph  Ijy  Archie  B.  McIIwraith  189 

THE  OLD  SCHOOLHOUSE—ou  1053  road 190 

THE  OLD  HIGH  SCHOOLHOUSE.     From  photograph  by  Walter 

C.  Stevens 192 

FRANKLIN  SCHOOLHOUSE.     From   plate  by   kindness  of  the 

School 195 

WASHINGTON     SCHOOLHOUSE.        From    photograph    by    A. 

Shepherdson    ...........       196 

LINCOLN   SCHOOLHOUSE.     From    plate,  kindness  Charles  H. 

Adams       ............       197 

HIGH  SCHOOLHOUSE.  From  photograph  by  A.  Shepherdson  199 
MEDAL   OF   THE    MINUTEMEN   OF    1801.     From   photograph 

by  Archie  B.  McIIwraith 245 

REAR    ADMIRAL    N.  MAYO    DYER.     From  plate,   kindness  of 

Charles  H.  Adams 249 

DYER  SWORD   AND   SCABBARD.     From  photograph  by   Mrs. 

Addie  K.  Robinson  . 250 

GRAND    ARMY    OF    THE    REPUBLIC    BADGE.     From  plate, 

kindness  of  U.  S.  Grant  Post  4 257 

THE    SOLDIERS'    MONUMENT.     From   photograph  by   Archie 

B.  McIIwraith 263 

THE   LAST   BOARD  OF   SELECTMEN.     From   plate,  kuulness 

of  Charles  H.  Adams 266 

THE  CHARTER  PEN.  From  photograph  l)y  A.  Shepherdson  .  270 
HON.  LEVI  S.  GOULD.  From  photograph  by  Elmer  Chiikering,  272 
HON.  JOHN  LARBABEE.  From  photograph  by  A.  Shepherdson,  274 
TOWN   TESTIMONIALS   TO    HON.    LEVI    S.   GOULD      From 

photographs,  kindness  of  Mr.  Gould    ......       279 

THE  RAVINE  ROAD.  From  photograph  by  Archie  B.  McIIwraith  324 
THE  V.  M.   C.  A.   BUILDING.     From  photograph  by  William  L. 

Kershaw 337 

MELROSE    HOSPITAL.       From    plate,    kindness  of   Charles    H. 

Adams       ........••••       343 

THE  AMPHION  CLUB.      From  photograph  by  Elmer  Chickering,       364 

HON.  DANIEL  W.  GOOl  H 37° 

MRS.  MARY  A.  LIVERMORE 373 

HON.   SAMUEL  E.   SEWALL.     From  plates,  kindness  of  Charles 

H.  Adams 379 


XVlll 


ILLUSTRA  TIONS. 


OLD  ENDEAVOR  ENGINE.     From  a  daguerreotype  in  possession 

of  Fire  Department 389' 

THE    CENTRAL    FIRE    STATION.      From    photograph   by   A. 

Shepherdson 391 

CITY  HALL.     From  photograph  by  Archie  B.  Mclwraith        .         .  395 

FIRST  TOWN  SEAL 399 

SECOND  TOWN  SEAL 400 

WATER  BOND  SEAL  401 

CITY  SEAL 401 

THE  SOUVENIR  PLATE.     From  plate,  kindness  of  Deloraine  P. 

Corey 421 

MASONIC  TEMPLE 433 

HOME  OF  THE  MELROSE  CLUB 436- 

HIGHLAND    CLUB    HOUSE.     From    plates,  kindness  of  Charles 

H.  Adams 437 

THE  STONE  FORT.     From  photograph,  kindness  of  Charles  E. 

French 438 

THE  FIRST  MALDEN  PIANO 475 


FACSIMILES. 

Original  report  of  running  Stoneham  and  Maiden  bounds 

Vote  concerning  Division  of  the  Commons. 

Assessors'  Report  for  Melrose  in  1849,  reduced 

Petition  of  Ensign  Thomas  Lynde 

Receipt  of  Ensign  Thomas  Lynde's  heirs 

Page  from  Rev.  Joseph  Emerson's  Sermon 

Page  of  Melrose  Advertiser,  reduced 


16 

la 
21 
46 

63 

64 
384 


AUTOGRAPHS. 


William  Bogle    . 
Gov.  John  Winthrop 
Ensign  Thomas  Lyndt- 
Joseph  Lynde     . 
Joseph  Lynde,  son 
Col.  Joseph  Lynde 
Benjamin  Lynde 
John  Lynde 
William  Sprague 
William  McKinlev 


Page 

Page 

36 

Richard  Sprague 

80 

43 

John  Sprague 

88 

61 

John  Upham 

108 

66 

Lieut.  Phineas  Upham 

109 

66 

Phineas  Upham,   son 

no 

7' 

Thomas  Vinton  . 

122 

72 

Nathaniel  Jenkins,  Jr. 

189 

73 

Robert  Gerry 

191 

.     79 

Ulysses  S.  Grant 

255 

.  363 

Last  Board  of  Selectmen  . 

267 

ESCUTCHEONS. 


Melrose  Club 

Sons  and  Daughters  of  Maine 


435       Knights  of  Columbus         ,         .  444 
442       Knights  of  Pythias  ,         .  445 


CHAPTER    I. 

EARLY    EXPLORATION. 

ONE  of  the  many  \0yas4es  of  the  intrepid  and  heroic 
naviqator.  Captain  John  Smith,  was  made  in  1614,  when 
he  first  \isited  the  New  England  coast.  He  sailed  from 
London,  in  the  month  of  April,  with  two  ships  and  forty-five 
men.  The  object  of  the  voyage  was,  "to  take  Whales,  for 
which  we  had  one  Samuel  Cramton,  and  diners  others  expert 
in  that  facultx',  and  also  to  make  tryalls  of  a  Myne  of  Gold 
and  Copper;  if  those  failed,  Fish  and  Furs  were  then  our  refuge 
to  make  our  selues  sauers  hovvsoeuer.'"^ 

Not  meeting  with  much  success,  and  finding  "this  Whale- 
fishing  a  costl)'  conclusion,"  and  filled  with  his  usual  spirit  of 
exploration,  he  says:  "Whilst  the  Sailors  fished,  myself  with 
eight  others  of  them  that  might  best  bee  spared,"  ranged  up 
and  down  the  coasts  of  INIaine  and  Massachusetts,  "in  a  small 
boat,"  \isiting  the  \arious  harbors  and  rivers.  During  this 
time,  he  continues:  "I  was  \-p  one  riuer  fortie  miles,  crossed 
the  mouths  of  many,  whose  heads  are  reported  to  be  great 
Lakes."  When  he  entered  Boston  Harbor,  he  says:  "I  tooke 
the  fairest  reach  in  this  Hay  for  a  ri\-er,  whereupon  I  called  it 
Charles  Ri\er,  the  name  of  our  Royall  King  Charles. "- 

How  far  inland,  around  the  Charles,  Mystic  and  Maiden 
Rivers,  Captain  .Smith  penetrated  is  not  known.  He  ma}'  have 
visited  our  pleasant  \alle\-  and  its  surrounding  hills,  but  he  has 
made  no  record  of  such  an  event.  Without  doubt  he  traversed 
a  goodly  portion  of  the  territory  of  Charlestown  and  Maiden, 
as  three  months  were  occupied  in  these  travels  and  explora- 
tions. This  is  abundantly  e\'idenced  l)\-  the  enthusiastic  ac- 
count of  what  he  had  discovered,  and  the  minute  description 
of  the  country  and   its   productions,  which   he  had   seen,  and 

^  Smith,    77/1?    General    Historie  ^  Sniitb,   The   True  Travels,  Ad- 

of  New  England,  1606-1624,  Arber      ventures,  and  Observations  of  Cap- 
Edition,  697.  tain  f oh n  Smith,  Arber  Edition.  949. 


2  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

which  he  \\rote  in  i6i6,  after  his  return  to  London;  and  also 
by  the  fact  that  he  constructed  a  ma}:)  of  the  region  he  then 
visited,  which  he  presented  to  Charles  I.  In  this  Descript'uvi  of 
New  Eng/a)id,  he  sa>'s: 

And  then  the  Countrie  of  Massachusetts,  which  is  the  Paradise  of  all 
those  parts.  For  heere  are  many  lies  all  planted  with  corne,  groues, 
mulberries,  saluage  gardens,  and  good  harbours.  .  .  .  And  of  all  the 
foure  parts  of  the  world  that  1  haue  yet  seene  not  inhabited,  could  I 
haue  but  means  to  transport  a  Colonic,  I  would  rather  hue  here  than 
anywhere :  and  if  it  did  not  maintaine  it  selfe,  were  wee  but  once  indif- 
ferently well  titted,  let  vs  starue.  .  .  .  there  is  victuall  to  feede  vs, 
wood  of  all  sorts  to  build  Boats,  Ships,  or  Barks;  the  fish  at  our 
doores ;  pitch,  tarre,  masts,  yards,  and  most  other  necessaries  onely  for 
making?  And  here  are  no  hard  Landlords  to  racke  vs  with  high  rents, 
or  extorted  fines  to  consume  us ;  no  tedious  pleas  in  law  to  consume  vs 
with  their  many  years  disputations  for  Listice ;  no  multitudes  to  occa- 
sion such  impediments  to  good  orders,  as  in  popular  States.  So  freely 
hath  God  and  his  Maiesty  bestowed  those  blessings  on  them  that  will 
attempt  to  obtaine  them,  as  here  euery  man  may  be  master  and  owner 
of  his  owne  labour  and  land:  or  the  greatest  part  in  a  small  time.  If 
hee  haue  nothing  but  his  hands,  he  may  set  \'p  his  trade :  and  by  in-  ' 
dustrie  quickh-  grow  rich ;  spending  but  halfe  that  time  wel,  which  in 
England  we  abuse  in  idlenes.  worse  or  as  ill. 

Again  he  says: 

\\'e  found  the  people  in  those  parts  \-er\-  kinde.  but  in  their  fury  no 
lesse  valiant;  for  vpon  a  quarrell.  we  fought  with  forty  or  fifty  of  them, 
till  they  had  spent  all  their  Arrowes,  and  then  we  tooke  six  or  seuen  of 
their  Canowes.  which  towards  the  euening  they  ran.somed  for  Beuer 
skinnes. 

Other  naxigators  had  \isitccl  our  Massachusetts  coast  before 
this.  In  1602,  Bartholomew  Gosnold  came  to  Massachusetts 
Bay,  entered  Boston  Harbor,  and  then  landed  on  Cape  Cod, 
which  he  named  and  explored.  He  afterwards  made  an  at- 
tempt at  a  settlenu'Ut  on  Llizabeth  Island,  uow  Cutt_\'hunk-, 
but  it  was  soon  abandoned.  Martin  Bring,  another  Lnglish 
navigator,  \-isited  the  New  I^ngland  coast  in  1603,  exphu-ing 
man}'  of  its  ri\ers  and  iidets.  There  is  exidence  that  he 
N'isited  the  region  of  Plymouth,  but  none  I  hat  he  enti-red 
Boston  Harbor.  He  landed  on,  and  named  the  group  of 
islands  Martin's  Vine^'ard,  afterwards  ccM'rupted  to  Martha's 
\'ine\-ard. 


EA  RL  Y  EX  PL  OR  A  TION.  3 

After  Priiig's  visit  Samuel  cic  Chanijjlain  cntcrecl  Boston 
Harbor,  in  1605,  and  anchored  on  the  westerly  side  of  Noddle's 
Island,  now  East  Boston.  He  saw  and  entered  Charles  River, 
which  he  called  Ri\er  dii  Guast.  As  this  expedition  was  so 
short  a  time  in  the  harbor,  probably  no  inland  exploration  was 
undertaken,  but  the  sliores  and  islands  of  the  harbor  were 
visited. 

Still  other  navigators  and  explorers  had  been  to  our  New 
England  shores,  landing  on  the  islands,  and  travelling  over  the 
country  surrounding  Boston  Harbor  and  Massachusetts  Bav. 

The  first  explorers  of  our  continent  were  the  Northmen. 
Leif  Eriksen,  in  the  \ear  lOOO,  was  the  first  European  to  travel 
the  great  mainland  southwest  of  Greenland,  and  the  first  to  ex- 
plore the  territory  of  Massachusetts,  which  he  called  \'inland. 
The  beautiful  statue  of  this  Northman,  by  Anne  Whitney,  on 
Commonwealth  Avenue,  Boston,  commemorates  the  discover\- 
of  the  continent  of  America  by  this  hardy  race  of  explorers. 
And  within  a  few  years  there  has  been  tliscovered  on  the  banks 
of  the  Charles  Ri\er,  what  has  been  claimed  to  be  "the  site  of 
Fort  Norumbega,  occupied  for  a  time  by  the  Bretons,  some 
four  hundred  years  ago,  and  as  many  years  earlier  still  built 
and  occupied  as  the  seat  of  extensi\e  fisheries,  and  a  settle- 
ment by  the  Northmen." •"■ 

Massachusetts  Bay  had  been  \isited  by  other  explorers  be- 
sides those  already  named,  and  pre\'ious  to  the  }-ear  1600; 
among  them  Gilbert,  Raleigh,  and  \'errazano;  the  latter  as 
early  as  1524.  From  the  topographical  descriptions  contained 
in  a  letter  from  X'errazano,  dated  July,  1524,  it  is  seen  that  he 
sailed  along  the  coast  from  North  Carolina  to  the  Penobscot 
Ri\er,  in  Maine,  \'isiting  many  of  the  inter\ening  harbors,  and 
exploring  the  adjoining  territorw* 

And  in  the  year  1542,  the  French  explorer,  jean  AUfonsce 
de  Saintonge,  was  the   first   to  explore   in   detail   the  shores  of 

'^  Horsford,   T/u-  Discovery  of  the  May  [1524],  passed  to  the  south  of 

Ancient  City  of  Nontmbci^a.     Pub-  Martha's  Vineyard  aud  Nantucket, 

lished   iu   1890.  with    numerous   il-  which  he  mistook    for   portions  of 

lustrations.  the  mainland,   rounded  Cape  Cod, 

and    went    ashore    probalily    sonie- 

^   "  From  this  harbour  of  refuj^e  where   between    Nahant    and   Cape 

[Narragansett     Bay]     the     worthy  Ann."        l-'iske,      The     Dutch     and 

Florentine  set  sail  on  the  sixth  of  Ono/cer  Co/onirs  in  .linrririi   \.  h^-6. 


4  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Massachusetts  Bay;  then  visiting  the  islands  in  Boston  Harbor, 
and  the  adjoining  territory. 

But  the  more  important  explorations  of  the  territory  around 
Boston  Harbor  were  made  after  1600.  After  Gosnold,  Pring, 
Champlain  and  Smith,  came  the  Pilgrims  who  landed  at 
Pl}'mouth  in  1620. 

In  September,  1621,  ten  men,  under  the  leadership  of  Captain 
Myles  Standish,  with  Tisquantum,  or  Squanto,  and  two  other 
Indians,  left  Plymouth  on  a  voyage  of  discovery.  They  were 
gone  four  days.  They  landed,  evidently,  on  the  Maiden  shore 
of  the  Mystic  Ri\er,  and  travelled  up  through  Medford: 

On  the  morrow  we  went  ashore,  all  but  two  men,  and  marched  in 
Amies  vp  in  the  Countrey.  Hauing  gone  three  myles,  we  came  to  a 
place  where  Corne  had  been  gathered,  a  house  pulled  downe,  and  the 
people  gone. 5 

They  went    as    far    as    the    residence   of   the    former    Chief 
Nanepashemet,  parleyed  and  bartered  with  some  Indians  and 
returned   to   Plymouth,  reporting  the  result  of  their  observa- 
tions.    Many  other  exploring  expeditions  were  made  by  those' 
who  followed  the  Pilgrims  to  our  shores. 

These  were  engendered  by  the  different  grants  made  in 
England  about  this  time.  The  territory  of  which  Melrose 
forms  a  part,  was  granted  to  Robert  Gorges  bv  "The  Council 
established  at  Plymouth,  in  the  County  of  Devon,  for  the 
planting,  ruling,  ordering,  and  go\-erning  of  New  England  in 
America,"  of  which  the  P^arl  of  Warwick  and  Sir  Ferdinando 
Gorges,  father  of  Robert,  were  the  most  prominent  members. 
This  Council  claimed  authority  "over  the  region  extending 
from  Delaware  Ba}-  to  Newfoundland  and  westward  over  un- 
known countries  to  the  great  South  Sea."  This  grant  to 
Robert  Gorges  con\-eyed 

all  that  part  of  the  mainland  commonly  called  Messachusiac.  on  the 
north-east  side  of  the  Bay  known  by  the  name  of  Massachuset,  to- 
gether with  all  the  shores  along  the  sea  for  ten  English  miles  in  a 
strait  line  towards  the  north-east,  and  thirty  miles  into  the  mainland 
through  all  the  breadth  aforesaid. 

^  Henry  Martyu  Dexter's  editiou  pany  and  wrote  the  account  of  this 

of  MourVs  Relation,  or  Journal  of  expedition,    above    quoted,    in    his 

the    Plantation    at   Plymouth,    127.  A  Relation  of  Ovr  Voyage  to  the 

Edward  Winslow  was  of  the  com-  Massachvsetts. 


EA  RL  Y  EX  PL  OR  A  TION.  5 

Soon  after  Robert  .^ranted  to  .j(thn  (  )l(lham  and  John  Dorrell 

all  the  lands  \v"nn  Mattachusetts  Bay  betweene  Charles  River  and 
Abousett  [Saugus]  River,  Containfi  in  lengt  by  a  streight  Ij-ne  5  myles 
vp  the  said  Charles  River  into  the  maine  land  north  west  from  the 
border  of  the  s^  Bay  including  all  Creekes  and  points  by  the  way  and 
3  myles  in  length  from  the  mouth  of  the  foresaid  river  of  Abousett  V[y 
into  the  maine  land  \pon  a  streight  lync  S:  \\":  including  all  Creeks 
and  points,  and  all  the  lajid  in  bredth  and  length  betweene  the  fore- 
said Rivers,  w'''  all  p'rogatives  Ryall  Mynes  excepted. 

March  4,  1628-9,  a  royal  charter  was  issued  to  the  "Goxernor 
and  Company  of  the  Mattachusetts  Bay  in  New  En^dand.  one 
bod\-  politicjue  and  corporate  in  deed,  fact,  and  name." 

Under  the  authority  of  the  grant  from  the  Council  for  New  England, 
and  while  negotiations  for  the  royal  charter  were  in  progress.  John 
Endicott,  a  gentleman  of  Dorsetshire  and  one  of  the  original  grantees, 
sailed  in  the  ship  "Abigail,"  Ciauden.  master,  from  the  little  harbor  of 
Weymouth,  with  a  small  company,  and  arrived  at  Naumkeag.  Sep- 
tember 6,  1628.  Others  had  preceded  him  and  were  seated  along  the 
shore  from  Cape  Ann  to  Scituate.  Among  these  were  Roger  Conant. 
Peter  Palfrey,  John  Balch  and  John  Woodbury  at  Naumkeag.  the 
Mavericks  at  Noddle's  Island  and  \\'innisimmet,  Thomas  W'alford  at 
Mishawum,  David  Thompson  at  Neponset  or  Thompson's  Island, 
William  Blackstone  at  Shawmut,  and  John  Bursley  and  William  Jeffrey 
at  \\'essaguset.  Some  of  these  had  been  followers  of  Robert  Gorges 
and  had  scattered  in  fa\"orable  trading  places  around  the  Bay ;  others 
were  single  adventurers  or  perhaps  agents  for  those  who  claimed  lands 
by  former  grants.  Besides  these  "the  mad  Bacchanalian."  Thomas 
Morton,  was  still  at  Merry-Mount,  and  a  gathering  of  fishermen  and 
traders  had  become  a  permanent  settlement  at  Nantasket.'' 

The  next  year  man\-  other  settlers  came  to  Salem,  amoni( 
them  Ralph,  Richard  and  W  illiam  Sprague,  sons  of  Edward 
Sprague  of  Upwa}-,  in  Dorsetshire.  Soon  after  arri\•in.i,^  these 
brothers,  with  several  others,  with  the  approbation  of  Goxernor 
Endicott,  went  on  an  exploriiiLj-  expedition,  in  a  westerly 
direction,  traversing-  the  inter\-enin<^  territory  between  Salem 
and  Charlestown;  thus  jjassing  through  and  examining  on  the 
way,  portions  of  Lynn,  Saugus,  Melrose,  INIalden  and  Medtord; 
fording  three  rixers,  Saugus,  Maiden  and  Mystic,  liefore  reach- 
ing their  destination,  Mishawam,  now  Charlest(n\n.     Ri'turning 

^  Corey,  Hislory  of  ISIaldcii,  18,  19. 


6  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

the  Sprague  brothers  remained  in  Salem  but  a  short  time;  for 
they  soon  after  retraced  their  steps  and  settled  in  Charlestown, 
and  were  among  those  referred  to  in  a  letter  written   in  1629, 

by  Rev.  Francis  Higginson.' 

* 

There  are  in  all  of  vs  both  old  and  new  planters  about  three 
hundred,  whereof  two  hundred  of  them  are  settled  in  Neihumkek,  now 
called  Salem :  and  the  rest  have  planted  themselves  at  Masathulets 
Ba}',  beginning  to  build  a  towne  there  which  wee  doe  call  Cherton,  or 
Charles  Towne. "^ 

As  soon  as  Gow  John  Winthrop  arri\'ed  at  Salem,  June  12, 
1630,  other  explorations  into  the  interior  began.  Five  days 
later,  he  says  in  his  Jcnniial : 

We  went  to  Mattachusetts  to  find  out  a  place  for  our  sitting  down. 
We  went  up  Mistick  River  about  six  miles. 

After  a  few  days  more  of  observation,  he  writes  to  his  son 
John,  in  England,  under  date  of 

Charlton,  Jul}^  23,  1630. 
For  the  country  itself  I  can  discern  little  difference  between  it  and 
our  own.  \\'e  have  had  only  two  days,  which  I  have  observed  more 
hot  than  in  England.  Here  is  as  good  land  as  I  have  seen  there,  but 
none  so  bad  as  there.  Here  is  sweet  air,  fair  rivers,  and  plenty  of 
springs,  and  water  better  than  in  England.  Here  can  be  no  want  of 
anything  to  those  who  bring  means  to  raise  out  of  the  earth  and  sea.-' 

Higginson  seemed  as  well  pleased  with  the  air  as  was 
Winthrop,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  oft-used  quotation  from  his 
New  Engiaiicfs  Plantation,  "A  sup  of  New  England's  aire  is 
better  than  a  whole  draught  of  Old  England's  ale." 

Other  enthusiastic  commendations  were  written  to  the  home 
friends  in  England,  by  Hutchinson,  Graves  and  others.  Hig- 
ginson states  that  in  one  place  might  be  seen  "thousands  of 
acres  of  ground  as  good  as  need  to  be  and  not  a  tree  in  the 
same." 

The  general  appearance  of  the  country  was  not  entirely  that  of  "  an 
uncouth  wilderness;"    for  a  pleasant  feature  which  struck  the  early 

'  Further  details  concerning  the  "*  Hit;ginsou,   in    Forceps    Tracts, 

Spragues    and     their     history    are  vol.  i. 

given  in  the  chapter,  "Old  Fanii-  ''  Winthrop,    Life  and  Letters  of 

lies  and  Homesteads. "  Jolm  Wiiitfn  op,  ii.  43. 


EARLY  EXPLORATION.  7 

comers  was  the  extended  and  frecjuent  areas  of  open  lands  around  the 
margins  of  the  marshes  and  meadows  and  upon  the  phiins.  —  lands 
ready  for  the  plough  and  tillage  without  much  labor.'" 

Thomas  Graves  wrote  home  to  I^ni^land: 

It  is  very  heautifull  in  open  lands,  mixed  with  goodly  woods,  and 
again  open  plaines,  in  some  places  five  hundred  acres,  some  places 
more,  some  lesse,  not  so  much  troublesome  for  to  cleere  for  the  plough 
to  goe  in.  no  place  barren,  but  on  the  tops  of  the  hils:  the  grasse  and 
weedes  grow  up  to  a  man's  face,  in  the  lowlands  and  bv  fresh  rivers 
aboundance  of  grasse  and  large  meddowes  without  any  tree  or  shrubbe 
to  hinder  the  sith." 

These  open  lands  were  accounted  ffir  l)\-  Thomos  Morton  as 
follows: 

The  Salvages  are  accustomed  to  set  fire  of  the  C'ountrv  in  all  places 
where  they  come,  and  to  burne  it  twize  a  yeare,  viz :  at  the  Spring,  and 
the  fall  of  the  leafe.  The  reason  that  mooves  them  to  doe  so,  is  be- 
cause it  would  other  wise  be  so  overgrowne  with  underweedes  that  it 
would  be  all  a  coppice  wood,  and  the  people  would  not  be  able  in  any 
wise  to  passe  through  the  Country  out  of  a  beaten  path.  And  this 
custome  of  firing  the  Country  is  the  meanes  to  make  it  passable :  and 
by  that  meanes  the  trees  growe  here  and  there  as  in  our  parks:  and 
makes  the  Country  very  beautifull  and  commodious. '- 

There  were  many  other  descriptions  of  our  New  Hngland 
territory  sent  home  to  England  by  these  earl\'  achenturers, 
some  of  which  seem  to  us  of  today  somewhat  oxerdrawn  and 
too  enthusiastic;  but  none  of  these  writers  were  so  thorough 
and  enthusiastic  as  was  William  Wood,  who,  after  his  return  to 
England  in  1634,  gives  a  complete  and  detailed  history  of  this 
whole  territory.  His  work  was  entitled,  ''New  Englamis  Pros- 
pect. A  true,  lively,  and  experhnentall  description  of  that  part  of 
America,  coiiintonly  called  Neiv  England:  discovering  the  state  of 
that  Countrie,  both  as  it  stands  to  onr  neiv-co)ne  English  Planters; 
and  to  the  old  Native  Inhabitants.  Laying  doivne  that  which  may 
both  enrich  the  knoivledge  of  the  mind-travelling  Reader,  or  benefit 
the  future  Voyager. ' ' 

The  Hon.  E.  Moody  Boyiiton  pidDJished  an  exact  reprotluc- 
tion  of  this  book  in  1898,  and  in  h;s  introduction  he  says: 

^^'  Corey,  History  of  Maiden,  21.  '-'  Morton,  Xcic  Em^lis/i  Canuan, 

"  jl/assac/iKsetts,  Historical   Col-      52,  54. 
lections,  i.  124. 


8  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

This  book,  righth'  entitled  T/ie  Prospects  of  Neiv  England,  contains 
the  first  description  of  the  prospects,  surroundings,  settlements  and 
territor}'  of  the  Massachusetts  Ba}^  Colony  at  the  period  when  its 
principal  towns  and  cities  were  located.  He  remained  four  years, 
from  1629,  to  August  15th,  1633,  when  he  sailed  for  London  in  the 
Hopewell. 

In  the  second  part  of  this  work  Wood  gives  a  complete 
description  of  the  Indian  tribes  then  inhabiting-  this  region. 
It  has  besides,  the  first  map  of  '"The  SoutJi  Part  of  N civ-Eng- 
land, as  it  is  Planted  this  Yean\  i6j4f  wherein  he  locates  the 
^'arious  rivers,  settlements,  etc.  Herein  is  shown  our  "  Spott 
pond,"  "  Misticke   pond,"   "  Horn   ponds,"   and   others. 

As  Mr.  Boynton  says:  "To  those  who  highly  regard  the  first 
steps  in  the  founding  of  a  great  nation  this  little  work  is  of 
rare  value  and  historical  interest." 

The  exaggerations  of  the  first  comers,  with  other  causes,  added  to 
the  tide  of  immigration,  which  was  very  much  increased  in  1630,  and 
Cambridge,  Boston.  Dorchester,  and  other  places  received  their  first 
inhabitants.  The  disappointments  and  sufferings  of  those  who  were 
not  well  prepared  to  meet  the  hardships  and  dangers  of  a  pioneer's 
life  were,  no  doubt,  as  strongly  set  forth  to  their  friends  in  England  as 
had  been  the  attractions  and  advantages  of  the  country  before.  As  a 
consequence,  in  part,  immigration  nearly  ceased,  and  some  returned  to 
England.  But  after  a  }'ear  or  two  ship  after  ship  continued  to  arrive 
in  the  liarbors  of  Salem  and  Boston :  and  growing  communities  of 
sturdy  Puritans  attested  at  once  the  troubles  which  had  befallen  the 
mother  land,  and  the  permanence  of  the  refuge  which  Providence  had 
opened  upon  the  bleak  shores  of  Massachusetts  Bay.  A  new  empire 
had  been  founded ;  and  upon  a  narrow  strip  of  countr}-.  between 
unknown  forests  and  the  barren  sands  and  sombre  nx^ks  of  an  unkind 
coast,  a  handful  of  earnest  men  and  women,  in  tlie  language  of  the 
time,  "chosen  vessels"  and  "precious  seed."  began  to  work  out  that 
problem  of  freedom  which  forecasts  the  coniing  (rlory  of  the  Ages. 
From  the  green  lanes  and  ancient  towns  of  Essex,  full  of  the  traditions 
and  as.sociations  of  a  thousand  years,  to  the  tangled  forests  and  the 
wild  shores  of  a  new  world :  from  the  old  English  homes  to  the  land 
which  God  had  prepared  for  the  chosen  seed  whose  fruitage  was  to  be 
a  great  nation,  —  these  are  to  us  of  the  nineteenth  century  but  the 
turning  of  a  leaf;  but  to  the  men  and  women  of  i(i2S.  a  stormy  waste 
of  waters  and  many  weeks  of  anxiety  and  distress,  of  weeping  and 
praying,  lay  between  the  homes  of  their  childhood  and  the  unknown 
land  where  they  were  to  watch  and  work  and  la\-  their  bones  to  rest.''' 

1-^  Corey,  History  of  Maldoi,  28,  29. 


EARLY  EXPLORATION. 


9 


Two  large  and  powerful  tribes  held  sway  in  this  region  when  our 
fathers  landed,  —  the  Massachusetts  and  the  Pawtuckets.  The  re- 
nowned sachem  of  the  Pawtuckets  was  Nanepashemit.  who  took  up 
his  abode  on  the  Mystic  River  in  1615.  and  was  killed  there  three  or 
foiir  years  later.  He  was  the  father  of  Sagamore  John  of  the  Mystic, 
Sagamore  James  of  L}nn.  and  Sagamore  George  of  Salem.  George 
finally  filled  the  place  of  his  father,  and  was  sachem  of  the  Pawtuckets. 
During  the  residence  of  Nanepashemit  in  Medford.  his  lodge  was  on 
Rock  Hill,  where  he  could  best  watch  the  approach  of  his  enemies. 
.  .  .  The  territory  for  many  miles  round  Mystic  Ri\er  was  owned  and 
occupied  by  small  tribes  or  detachments,  each  hax'ing  its  own  head. 
Medford  and  some  of  the  adjoining  territory  belonged  to  Sagamore 
John,  whose  Indian  name  was  Monohagnaham.  and  who. was  friendly 
to  our  ancestors,  and  gave  our  fathers  permission  to  settle,  and  after- 
wards apprised  them  of  premeditated  attacks  by  unfriendly  Indians.'-* 

Sagamore  John  had  his  headquarters  in  Maiden,  his  home 
beint^-  in  the  southern  part  of  the  town,  now  Ex'erett,  "upon  a 
creek,  which  runs  from  the  marshes  between  Powder- Horn 
Hill  and  Winnesimmet.  into  the  M\stic  Ri\-er  at  Sweeetzer's, 
or  Beacham's,  Point."  ^"^ 


i-*  Brooks,  History  of  IMedJovd, 
91,  92. 

^^  This  creek  is  now  kuowu  as 
Island  End  River,  or  Chelsea  Creek . 
The  point  has  been  known  as  Van 
Voorhis,  and  Wormwood.  —  some- 
times corrupted  into  Wormal's 
Point.  For  a  complete  history  of 
the  various  tribes  of  Indians  that 
were   found   in  this  rejrion   bv  the 


early  settlers,  and  the  policy  which 
governed  those  who  "saw  in  the 
apparent!}'  aimless  wanderings  of 
the  Indians  no  traces  of  that  occu- 
pancy and  subjugation  of  the  earth 
which  civilization  has  made  a  ne- 
cessity and  the  Scripture  enjoins  as 
a  duty,"  see  the  History  of  ^falden, 
IMassachusetts,  1633-1JS5,  by  Delo- 
raine  P.  Corey,  pp.  29-53,  chapter, 
"  Discoverers  and  Indians." 


CHAPTER  II. 

TERRITORY. 

MALDEN. 

ORIGINALLY  the  territory  of  Melrose  belonged  to  the 
town  of  Charlestown,  which  was  settled  in  1629,  and 
was  a  far  more  extensix^e  region  than  that  now  belong- 
ing to  it.  It  then  included  what  is  now  Somerv'ille,  Maiden, 
Everett,  VVoburn,  Burlington,  Melrose,  Stoneham,  a  small  part 
of  Cambridge,  West  Cambridge  and  Reading,  and  a  large 
part  of  Medford.  Town  after  town  was  taken  from  it,  grad- 
uall}'  diminishing  its  territory  until  it  became  the  smallest 
town,  territorially,  in  the  State.  Woburn,  comprising  Bur- 
lington, was  taken  from  it  and  incorporated  in  1642;  Mai- 
den, in  1649;  Stoneham,  in  1725;  Somerville,  in  1842.  In 
1717  and  1725,  a  large  tract  called  "North  Charlestown," 
was  set  off,  part  to  Maiden  and  part  to  Reading.  In  1754, 
another  tract,  including  several  large  farms,  was  set  off  to 
Medford,  and  now  forms  the  eastern  part  of  that  city.  A 
tract  was  set  off  to  Cambridge  in  1802,  and  to  West  Cam- 
bridge in  1842.  Thus  was  Charlestown,  now  a  district  of 
Boston,  reduced   to   its    present    limits. 

Very  early  in  the  history  of  Charlestown,  differences  of 
opinion  connected  with  the  boundaries  of  the  different  towns 
arose,  which  necessitated  a  settlement  by  the  General  Court; 
and  at  "A  Court,  holden  att  Boston,"  July  2,  1633,  M\-stic 
Side,  or  Mystic  Field  [now  Maiden]  was  granted  to  Charles- 
town, it   being   then    ordered 

That  the  ground  lyeing  betwixte  the  North  RyV  [sometimes  called 
"  Three  Myle  lirooke."'  now  Maiden  River]  &  the  creeke  on  the  north 
side  of  M'  Mauacks,  &  soe  vpp  into  the  country,  shall  belonge  to  the 
inhabitants  of  Charlton. 

As  "  N])])  into  the  country"  did  not  determine  how  far  the 
line  should  go,  another  order  passed  "Att  the  Gen''all  Court, 
holden    att    Newe   Towne,   March   3,  1635,"  was  more  definite: 


TERRITORY.  11 

Ordered,  That  Charles  Towne  bounds  shall  run  ei,i,dit  myles  into 
the  country  from  their  meeteinji;'  howse,  if  noe  other  bt)unds  intercept, 
reserueinj";  the  pprietie  of  ffernies  j^raunted  to  John  Winthrop  Esq.,  M"" 
Nowell,  M""  Cradocke  lS:  M""  Wilson,  to  the  owners  thereof,  as  also  ffree 
inijresse  ^:  e,t;resse  for  the  serv's  &  cattell  of  the  said  gent.  iV-  cofiion 
for  their  cattell.  on  the  backeside  of  M^  C'radocks  ffernie. 

In  1836,  a  commission  consisting"  of  Abraham  ralnu-r,  \\il- 
liam  Cheeseborou.^di  and  William  Spencer,  decided  and  deter- 
mined the  bounds  as  follows  : 

Agreed  by  vs.  whose  names  are  vnder  written,  that  the  bounds 
betweene  Boston  iS:  Charles  Towne,  on  the  noreast  .syde  of  Misticke 
Ryver,  shall  run  from  the  mked  tree  vpon  the  rocky  hill  above 
Rumney  Marshe,  neere  the  w  ritten  tree  nore-norewest  vjDon  a  straight 
lyne  by  a  meridean  compas  vpp  into  the  countrie. 

Corey,  in  his  History  of  Maldoi,  in  Samuel  Adams  Drake's 
History  of  Middlesex  County,  iSSo,  saws  : 

This  line,  running  from  near  "  Black  Ann's  Corner  ""  in  Linden, 
has  never  been  changed,  and  is  still  the  eastern  limit  of  Maiden  and 
Melrose.  The  rocky  hill,  called  in  1635  •'  a  point  of  rock,  on  the  side 
of  the  high  way  to  Mistick,"'  may  still  be  recognized,  and  is  a  promi- 
nent feature  in  the  landscape;  but  the  "marked  tree,"  an  ancient  pine, 
after  having  been  a  landmark  more  than  a  century,  disappeared  many 
years  ago. 

This  boundary  (luestion  is  a.^ain  referred  to  in  the  Charles-^ 
town  records  of  1638,  as  follows  :  "the  Gen"  Court  had  setled 
theire  Bounds  by  L^n-antinij;-  eight  miles  from  the  old  Meeting- 
house into  the  Contr\'  XtM'thwest  Xorthrly." 

A  year  later  Charlestown  received  the  following  deed  from 
the  original  owners. 

Of  this  Indian  deed  of  our  territory- given  by  Squaw  Sachem 
and  Webcowet,  recorded  in  Middlesex  Count\-  Deeds,  i.  igo, 
Corey,  in  his  History  of  Maiden,  p.  34,  says  : 

In  1639  the  two  signed  a  deed  by  which  they  conveyed  to  the 
inhabitants  of  Charlestown,  with  some  reservations,  all  the  lands 
which  the  Court  had  granted  them,  including  the  bounds  of  the 
present  cities  of  Maiden  and  Kverett,  and  the  town  of  Melrose. 
This  document  is  of  interest  to  us  as  being  the  hrst  and  only  con- 
veyance of  the  aboriginal  title  in  the  territory  which  we  occupy. 
The  consideration,  or  "  sattisfaction,"  proves  how  little  the  Indians 
valued  their  rights  and  how  cheaply  the  settlers  quieted  their  claims. 


12  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

The   I  5 ''3  of  the  2.  mt;    1639. 

Wee  Web  Cowet  &  Squaw  Sachem  do  sell  vnto  the  Inhabitants  of 
the  Towne  of  Charlestowne,  all  the  land  with  in  the  lines  granted 
them  by  the  Court  (excepting  the  farmes  and  the  ground,  on  the  West 
of  the  two  great  Ponds  called  misticke  ponds,  from  the  South  side  of 
mr  Nowells  lott,  neere  the  \'pp''  end  of  the  Ponds,  \-nto  the  little  run- 
net  that  Cometh  from  Capt  Cookes  mills  which  the  Squaw  reser\-eth  to 
their  vse,  for  her  life,  for  the  Jndians  to  plant  and  hunt  vpon,  and  the 
weare  above  the  Ponds,  they  also  reserve  for  the  Jndians  to  fish  at 
whiles  the  Squaw  liveth,  and  after  the  death  of  Squaw  Sachem  shee 
cloth  leave  all  her  lands  from  m"'  Mayhues  house  [Cradock  house  on 
east  bank  of  the  M^-stic  River]  to  neere  Salem  to  the  present  Gov- 
erno'',  m''  Jn"  Winthrop  Sen'',  m''  Increase  Nowell,  m''  Jno  Wilson, 
m''  Edward  Gibons  to  dispose  of,  and  all  Jndians  to  depart,  and  for 
sattisfaction  from  Charlestowne,  wee  acknowledge  to  have  received  in 
full  sattisfaction  twenty  and  one  coates  ninten  fathom  of  \\'ampon,  & 
three  bushels  of  come.  In  witnes  whereof  we  ha\e  here  vnto  sett  o^ 
hands,  the  day  and  yeare  above  named. 

the  marke  of  Squa  Sachem,     m^ 
the  marke  of  Web  cciwet.         m. 
Subscribed  in  the 
p^sence  off 

Jno    HUMPHREV 

Robert  Feake. 
This  is  to  testifie  that  the  aforenamed  purchase  was  made  at  the 
charges  of  the  Jnhabitants  of  Charlestowne.  and  to  their  vse,  and  for 
so  much  as  lyeth  with  in  their  limitts.  we  do  accordingly  resigne,  and 
yeld  vp  all  our  interest  therein  to  the  vse  of  the  said  towne.  according 
to  the  trust  reposed  in  vs.     lot''  m'.'   iStii,  1639. 

Jno  Winthrop  Gondii''. 
Jncrease  Nowell. 
Jn'o  Wilson. 
Entred  tS:  Recorded.     23111  ,S  nv;    1656. 

By  Thomas  Dan  forth  Recorder. 

Nothwithstanding  the  near  presence  of  the  natixes,  the  people  of 
Charlestown  began  at  a  very  early  period  to  push  out  into  the  adjacent 
country,  and  within  and  without  the  borders  of  that  town  to  settle 
where\er  they  could  find  land  suited  to  their  needs.  New  colonists 
were  constanth'  arri\ing  from  England,  and  during  the  first  ten  years 
after  the  arrival  of  Winthrop  it  is  estimated  that  four  thousand  families 
had  reached  the  shores  of  New  England,  including  more  than  twenty- 
one  thousand  persons.  The}'  had  come  from  a  countrj'  where  the 
ownership  of  land  was  a  prize  which  only  the  wealthy  were  able  to 
secure,  and  the  almost  limitless  bounds  of  the  western  world  attracted 
a  continued  wave  of  emigration,  with  liberal  homesteads  and  farms, 


TERRITORY.  13 

almost  free  of  cost,  as  the  expected  rewards  of  their  enterprise.  The 
eagerness  displayed  in  our  own  day  by  the  settlers  of  Oklahoma  and 
other  newly-opened  Territories  to  possess  advantageous  sites  for 
homes,  finds  a  parallel  in  the  days  of  our  fathers,  when  almost  for 
the  asking  the  poor  English  laborer,  with  only  sufficient  means  to 
secure  a  passage  across  the  Atlantic,  could  become  the  lord  of  lands 
on  a  footing,  so  far  as  ownership  was  concerned,  with  the  more 
favored  in  his  English  home.' 

In  a  few  years  after  the  settlement  of  Charlestown,  the 
inhabitants  from  that  town  and  other  sources,  bej^an  to  cross 
over  the  Mystic  River,  and  settle  at  ]\I>'stic  Side;  it  was  thus 
known  as  earl)-  as  1634;  and  when  Thomas  Coytmore,  "a  right 
godly  man,"  built  a  dam,  and  soon  after  a  mill  at  "  Black 
Rock,"  on  "Three  Myie  Brook,"  near  the  present  center  of 
Maiden,  quite  a  settlement  had  been  established  ;  and,  owing 
to  their  distance  from  Charlestown  proper,  very  soon  the 
inhabitants  began  to  think  of  forming  a  new  town,  and  hav- 
ing taken  the  necessary  steps,  on  May  11,  1649,  the  General 
Court  passed  the  following  vote  : 

In  answer  to  the  peticon  of  seull  inhabitants  of  Misticke  side  their 
request  is  graunted,  viz.,  to  be  a  distinct  towne  of  themselves,  ^:  the 
name  thereof  to  be  Maulden. 

Concerning  the  formation  of  this  town.  Captain  Edward 
Johnson,  of  VVoburn,  in  his  Wondcr-ivorking  Providence  of  Siivis 
Saviour  in  Neiv  England,  published  in  London,  in  1654,  sa^•s 
that    Maiden   was  settled 

by  certain  persons,  who  issued  out  of  Charlestown.  and  indeed  had 
her  whole  structure  within  the  bounds  of  this  more  elder  Town,  being 
severed  by  the  broad  spreading  river  of  Mistick  the  one  from  the 
other,  w-hose  troublesome  passage  caused  the  people  on  the  North 
side  of  the  river  to  plead  for  Town  priviledges  within  themselves^ 
which  accordingly  was  granted  them ;  the  soyl  is  very  fertile,  but 
they  are  much  straitened  in  their  bounds,  yet  their  neerness  to  the 
chief  Market  Towns,  makes  it  the  more  comfortable  for  habitation. 

Maiden  was  named  after  the  town  of  Maldon,  England,  by 
Joseph  Hills  and  others,  who  came  from  that  town.  "The 
affections  of  the  first  })lanters  of  New^  England  still  clung, 
as  was  natural,  to  the  soil  of  their  nativity;  and  they 
designed,  by  the  names  they  bestow^ed  on  the  places  of  their 

1  Davis,   History  of  jVa/dcii,   for  Lewis'  History  of  Middlesex  County, 
1S90. 


14  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

abode,  in  this  land  of  their  adoi:)tion,  to  keej)  ali\-e  in  their 
breasts  the  tender  associations  of  home.'""  Mr.  Hills  was  not 
only  an  early  settler  in  Mx'stic  .Side,  but  a  \'er)'  prominent 
citizen,  and  a  man  of  marked  ability.  He  took  a  \'ery  prom- 
inent part  in  the  rexision  of  the  jNlassachusetts  laws,  in  1648, 
which  were  first  issued  in  164 1,  as  the  Body  of  Liberties  by 
Nathaniel  Ward,  and  which  became  the  authorized  code  of 
la\\s    for    New    England. 

In  1727,  Maiden  lost  (|uile  a  lari;e  tract  of  territory  which 
would  now  ha\'e  formed  a  part  of  Melrose  had  this  action 
not  ha\-e  taken  place.  A  number  of  families  who  liwd  at  the 
extreme  northerl>'  part,  became  dissatisfied  by  lieini^- 

so  remote  from  the  Middle  of  the  Town,  that  they  are  under  ,>;reat 
Inconveniences  &  Ditlficulties  to  attend  the  pul^lick  Worship  there,  cV 
their  Cavil  i.\:  Military  Duties  in  the  Said  Town  cV  that  they  ly  much 
nearer  to  Reading". 

The\'  therefore  made  application  In-  ])t(itiim,  to  be  annexed 
to  that  town;   and  at  that  time  the  town  ot   ReadiuL;-  \-oted: 

That  ujjon  the  jjetition  of  our  nei.uhbors  of  North  end  of  Maiden, 
Richard  I'pham  and  William  dreen  rei)resentinj;-  them,  we  will  j^etition 
the  (jeneral  Court  that  a  number  of  our  ueiuhbors  of  North  Knd  of 
Maiden  be  set  to  Readin.^-.-' 

The  town  of  Maiden  Noted,  .May  2J,  1727: 

That  yt'  tenn  famel\s  \t  ha\e  i)etioned  to  be  Laid  off  from  this 
Town,  unto  y^'  'lown  of  Reding-.  ha\e  lal)erty  to  goe  to  Redini;-  with 
there  Estates  Acordins;-  to  their  petion. 

-Ill  ils  ])rL-seiit  aspect,  Maldon  New  Entiland.  .  .  .  Out  of  thi.s 
retains  mam-  of  the  features  which  ancient  IMaldon  came  in  16:^8,  Jo- 
were  familiar  to  that  little  band  of  sejdi  Hills,  a  woollen-draper,  and 
pil!.,M-iiiis  who,  aliout  the  first  of  with  him,  or  a  little  later,  Jt)hn 
.\l)ril,  1638,  sailed  down  the  river  Wayte,  who  married  his  daui^hter 
in  an  "Ipswicli  Ilye."  Its  single  Mary.  .  .  .  These  men  became 
main  street,  running  about  a  mile  early  holders  of  land  in  the  vicin- 
east  and  west,  and  now  intersected  ity  of  Wayte's  Mount,  on  Mystic 
by  several  cross  streets,  its  vener-  vSide.  .  .  .  The  misuse  of  many 
able  churches  and  halls,  the  ebbing  years,  bv  substituting  Maiden  for 
and  flowing  river  washing  its  an-  Maldon,  has  ])ermanently  fixed  the 
cieiit  wharves,  the  green  fields  incorrect  ft)rni  of  the  same  which 
around,  and  all  those  kindly  in-  we  now  use.  Corey,  History  of 
fluences    which    have    made    Essex  Matdcn,  9,  12. 

the  garden  of  Kngland,  were  often  ,  v.^u.xx,  Hhtorv  of  Rcadino-,  142. 
remembered    by    wistiul    hearts   in 


TERRITORY.  lo 

The  Legislature  accortlingly  confirmed  tlie  wishes  of  both 
parties  as  follows: 

Resolved.  That  the  Prayer  of  the  Petition  be  granted.  \'  that 
the  said  ten  Families  &  their  Estates  be  annexed  to  «S:  accounted  as 
Part  of  the  Town  of  Reading  for  the  future,  according  to  the  Line  set 
forth  in  the  Petition ;  Any  Law,  Usage  or  Custom  to  the  Contrary 
Notwithstanding.  Jn  Council:    Read  \-   ConcurVl 

Consented  to,  \\ '"  l)i mmkr.^ 

The  section  thus  lost  to  Maiden  shortened  the  town  more  than  a 
mile,  and  carried  with  it  some  of  the  wealthiest  inhabitants.  It  is  to 
this  addition  to  the  limits  of  the  old  town  of  Reading  that  the  town  of 
Wakefield  owes  the  peculiar  configuration  of  its  southerly  portion  em- 
bracing the  present  \illage  of  Cireenwocxl.'"' 

The  names  of  the  ten  families  thus  changing  their  town 
connections  were:  William  Green,  Thomas  Upham,  Nathaniel 
E\-ans,  David  Green,  John  Walton,  .Samuel  Evans,  John  K\-ans, 
Richard  Upham,  .Samuel  Howard  and  Thomas  Cireen.  In  1734, 
still  another  tract  of  the  northwestern  ])art  of  Maiden  was  set 
off,  by  Legislati\e  act,  to  the  town  of  .'~>t()neham.  There  was 
a  cluster  of  Green  families  in  this  part  of  the  town  who  were 
also  remote  from  religious  ]jri\ileges,  and  who  were  not 
embraced  in  the  action  of  \J2j.  A  petition  to  the  General 
Court,  June  Ji,  1734.  signed  by  John  Green.  Isaac  Green,  John 
Dexter  and  Jonas  Green  of  Maiden,  and  Da\icl  Green,  Thomas 
Green  and  Samuel  Cireen  of  Reading,  which  petition  set  forth 
"their  Difficulty  to  attend  the  Public  Worship  of  Cjotl  in  their 
Towns  by  Reason  of  their  Remoteness  from  the  meeting 
house;  "and  praying  "That  they  and  their  family's  and  I-'.slates 
may  by  order  of  this  Court  be  annexed  to  the  Town  of  Slone- 
ham."  Fa\-orable  action  was  grantetl  Dec.  Ji,  1734.  This 
territory  comprised  most  all  of  that  now  known  as  the  Mc-Jrose 
Highlands,  and  it  remained  a  j^art  of  .^toneham  until  1853, 
when,  after  much  opposition  on  the  }jart  of  that  town,  it  was 
reunitetl  to  the  territory  of  Melrose. 

*  Cowra/  Co/ii/  A'tio/(/s,  xiii,  T,22.  "^  Corey,  History  of  Ma/drn.  ^^)2. 


16  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


-^•cl  <^llf^^  S^J!,  ^Oc  Y  *^a.;f  4^^rr  /2.   5^,1^^  M,  ,^  ^/6,v, 

t^f^    Of<^—    /?  *,i<r7-  ^  H'   --^    (2rT>n>,-^u^  -^yC^-rv  *ru^^  '^ArJ/l^x^ 

The  Commons.  This  was  an  extensive  tract  of  land  belong- 
in,<4-  to  the  town  of  Maiden,  embracing  about  thirty-five  hund- 
red acres,  which  was  nearly  one-half  of  the  town,  as  then  con- 
stituted. About  twenty-three  hundred  of  these  acres  covered 
all  of  the  eastern  part  of  what  is  now  Melrose,  and  most  of 
what  was  once  the  northerly  part  of  Maiden;  that  portion  now 
known  as  Greenwood.  It  was  the  land  lying  east  of  Ell  Pond, 
and  east  of  Lebanon  and  Green  Streets,  extending  from  a  little 
way  below  Swain's  Pond  in  the  south,  up  into  Wakefield,  then 
Reading,  to  Smith's  Pond,  now  called  Crystal  Lake;  and  to 
within  about  half  a  mile  of  Reading  meeting-house.  It  was 
"full   of  statel\-  timber."  and,   say  the   Charlestown    records: 

''The  above  is  a  facsimile  of  the  Peter  Hay  aud  Daniel  Greeu,  Jr., 

report  made  by  the  Selectmen   of  of  the   running  of  the  bounds  be- 

Maklen,  Jonathan  Barrett,  Deacon  tweeu  Stoneham  and  Maiden,  after 

Thomas  Lynde  and  James  Hovey  ;  this   tract   had    been    annexed    to 

aud    Stoneham,    Jonathan    Green,  Stoneham. 


TERRITORY.  17 

"indeed  generally  all  tlu-  country  round  about  was  an  uncouth 
wilderness." 

It  was  the  home  of  the  Indian  and  the  wild  beast. 

We  are  told  that  when  our  ancestors  made  their  settlement  at  Shaw- 
mut,  now  Boston,  they  sent  out  a  number  of  persons  to  examine  the 
country  to  the  North,  who,  havin<j  searched  the  first  range  of  hills, 
probably  the  range  near  us,  then  covered  with  forests,  returned  and 
reported,  that,  having  reached  a  mountainous  and  rocky  country,  they 
deemed  it  best  to  come  back,  as  there  was  little  probability  that  the 
settlement  would  ever  extend  beyond  these  mountains. ^ 

In  the  process  of  time  these  lands  came  to  be  very  desirable 
both  for  woodland  and  pasturage;  and  the  Town  of  Maiden 
had  been  greatly  troubled,  not  only  by  its  own  citizens  but  by 
their  "Charlestown  neighbors,"  to  whom  frequent  warnings 
had  been  given,  prohibiting  them  from  thus  trespassing,  and 
cutting  and  teaming  wood  and  timber  from  this  common  land, 
or  in  pasturing  sheep  and  cattle.  Therefore  action  was  taken 
by  the  town  looking  to  its  preservation  and  utility'. 

In  March,  i6S-'4  it  was  \-oted: 

That  no  fyrwood  shall  be  feld  or  cutt  \ppon  the  common  this  yeare 
ensueing  but  what  is  or  shalbe  lying  on  the  ground  on  penalt}'  of  hue 
shillings  p""  tree.  Excepting  on  the  south  syde  of  the  rocks  from 
Joseph  Wayts  house  to  Lem"  Jenkins  &  from  thence  on  the  South^ly 
side  the  swamp  to  the  Town  lyne. 

In  1687  "^  citizen  was  fined  £"3.  lo  for  "carriing  and  cutting 
timber  of  the  common  contrar}'  to  a  Town  order  ;  "  and  in  1691, 

John  green  Jn""  Joses  Bucknam  Se^  Thomas  newhall  Isak  Hill  Jacob 
parker  thay  were  chosen  as  a  committ}-  to  prosecute  in  a  course  of  law 
any  that  shall  offend  by  cutting  and  earring  wood  of  maiden  common. 

Action  was  taken  for  a  division  of  these  "Commons"  among 
the  freeholders,  by  the  Town,  July  12,  1693,  when  a  committee 
was  appointed  "to  Run  y  line  between  the  common  and  pro- 
prietors land;"  and  March  26,  1694: 

The  former  Coniitie  met  and  l<.un  y<^  bounds  Round  Keedy  pond 
ye  bounds  Are  first  a  great  buttenwood  tree  before  Joseph  Lines  dore. 
and  so  bounded  Round  with  seuernll  trees  marked  with  letter  C  next 
common. 

And  erected  seuerall  heapes  of  stons 

The  same  day  Run  ye  line  about  Joseph  waits  plain  :  and  niarkt 
seuerall  trees  with  letter  C  next  ye  common. 

'  Adams,  Bi-Ccntcnnial  Book  of  Maiden,  p.  94. 


18  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

ye  same  day  Run  ye  line  Round  Swains  pond  nieddow  and  marked 
seuerall  trees  with  letter  C  next  ye  common : 

ye  same  daj'  ye  bounds  was  Run  about  wilkesons  -land  [near  Long 
Pond]  and  marked  seuerall  trees  next  ye  common  with  letter  C. 

The  same  day  ye  bounds  was  Run  about  Squiers  meddo  and  marked 
seuerall  trees  next  y^  common  with  letter  C. 

Nov.  20,  1694,  a  committee  consisting  of  three  men,  not  resi- 
dents of  Maiden,  was  appointed  to  devise  a  plan  for  this 
division  of  these  common  lands  amono-  the  inhabitants  of  Mai- 
den; and  it  was  then  also  \-oted:  "That  y*  common  shall  be 
deuided:  bottom  and  top  y*  is  land  And  wood." 

2iJ^t'^<^i-  fn  Ji<yn  cPY-a^'  cj^i-^fn  oi  -AitVM^  -{^fd^fcrpi^t^c^i^ic  np^tulc. 

rf  ft^  4,f  c^r.y ^/i^ff^ :  Jy^3  ^^  <r^'rt  U/^-^  U  «<»w 
'^^  ^.u-h^>  ^c.,.  tf-'^'  ^fc^.  -^vAr^  ^'/i/^/'-o  <r^.M, ^»;; 

That  committee  made  the  following  report: 

Nov.  26,  1694.  Whereas,  we  Subscribers  are  Requested  or  Im- 
powed:  by  ye  inhabitants  of  Maldon  To  prescribe  a  way  for  y^  deuid- 
ing  of  their  common  both  Land  and  wood : — we  considering  the  seuerall 
methods  and  way  of  Their  Raising  of  Town  Charges  for  time  past: 
first  we  doe  adjug  their  be  a  commite  chose  of  Indeferant  men  To  set 
out  so  much  land  for  i^eipatuall  common  as  they  shall  see  meete. 

2b-.  that  there  be  a  true  Invoice  taken  of  every  true  proprietors 
estate  And  twenty  pounds  aded  for  the  heads  of  euery  free-holder 
according  To  town  vote  whather  male  or  famale. 

3'>-  then  for  5^e  Rest  of  ye  common  draw  lots  for  equall  proportions 
Acording  to  the  Inuoice  beginning  your  lots  at  }e  ^iper  end  of  jour 
common  next  Reding :  at  ye  southwest  corner  and  so  Run  dowards  in 
two  deuisions  or  more  if  you  see  cause. 

Major  William  Johnson. 
Capt  John  Smith. 
CAPT  John  Brown. 

Dec.  25,  Deacon  John  (ireen,  John  Greenland,  Tr\-al  New- 
berry, Phineas  Upham,  Thomas  Newhall,  Lieutenant  Joseph 
Wilson  and  Henry  Green  were  chosen  to  proceed  with  the 
division  of  the  "Commons"  according  to  the  direction  "of  y*^ 
formar  commite  nameh'  those  gentillmen  That  are  chosen  out 


TERRITORY.  19 

of  this  town."    Many  other  \otes  gi\-ing  details  for  accomplish- 
ing this  important  matter  were  passed;  among  them  it  was: 

Also  agreead  upon  by  ye  conimitie  y'  for  y^  deuidin<:j  of  y^  common 
euery  properioters  name  shall  be  writ  distintl}- :  and  }'  y^  lots  be  well 
shutied  together:  And  one  man  chose  by  y^  town:  To  draw  y"  out  of 
a  bag:  and  \^  first  man  y'  is  drawen  shall  have  y^  first  lot  in  y^  com- 
mon begining  as  aforsaid  And  so  sucksesiuely  as  y^  are  all  drawen  To 
the  proportion  of  looo  accres  and  then  to  proseed  in  \^  same  way  and 
method  for  another  looo  accres. 

It  is  also  agreead  upon  by  ye  commite  That  there  shall  be  2  pols  in 
breadth  between  euery  Raing  of  lots  for  high  wais :  and  that  euery 
mans  lot  shall  Run  Eighty  two  pool  in  leangth  for  }'  end. 

Also  that  "  this  comitee  hes  pouer  to  improue  An  artis  to  lay  out 
ye  lots,"  and  that  John  Sargeant  Jr.,  be  authorized  "  To  draw  y^  out 
of  a  bag." 

Mr.  Corey,  who  has  made  a  verj'  thorough  study  of  these 
"Commons"  and  their  disposition,  says: 

The  allotment  was  finally  completed;  and  the  record  begins  as 
follows : 

Recorded  May  3-^  30 :  1695  :  An  a  Greement  of  the  Town  of  maiden 
In  deuiding  of  The  common  The  tirst  deuision  begining  at  the  upar 
end  next  to  nathaniell  eueness  land  by  Charlstown  line:  In  mannar 
as  followeth :  y^  lots  Runing  82  pool  in  length. 

This  division,  which  contained  nine  hundred  and  thirty-one  acres 
and  fifty-one  poles,  was  laid  out  in  seven  ranges  and  seventy-four  lots. 
It  comprised  the  northern  portion  of  the  town  between  the  bounds  of 
Boston  and  Charlestown.  The  Evans  farm  of  sixty  acres,  on  the 
westerly  side  of  the  road,  and  the  woodland,  which  had  been  reserved 
for  the  ministry,  on  the  easterly  side,  alone  parted  it  from  the  Reading 
line  at  Smith's  Pond.  This  tract  of  common  was  broken  by  the  Green 
farm,  by  a  piece  of  land  north  of  L  Pond  which  belonged  to  the  estate 
of  Thomas  Coytmore  as  early  as  1653,  by  ten  acres  of  meadow  "  aboue 
the  old  cow  pen  in  Mauldon  "  which  Joseph  Hills  had  sold  to  Henry 
Evans  in  1660,  and,  perhaps,  by  smaller  lots  of  appropriated  land. 
['I'his  division  extended  to  our  present  Howard  Street.] 

The  second  division  of  the  two  thousand  acres,  containing  nine 
hundred  and  forty-two  acres  and  twentj-eight  poles,  was  laid  out  in 
six  ranges  and  seventy-five  lots.  [Extending  from  Howard  Street  to 
south  of  Grove  Street.]  Beginning  "  by  elle  ponde,"  it  stretched  over 
the  highlands  towards  the  Bo.ston  line,  covering  the  country  east  of  the 
Reading  Road  [Main  Street]  and  north  of  Swain's  Pond.  [Quite  a 
large  proportion  of  this  territory  is  now  known  as  East  Side.]  Some  of 
the  ways  reserved  for  passage  between  the  ranges  in  this  division  be- 
came highways  in  time  and  still  exist.     [I'orter.  L'pham.  and  Grove 


20  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Streets.]  .  .  .  These  two  divisions  comprised  the  territory  known  as 
the  two  thousand  acres  and  contained,  together,  eighteen  hvuidred  and 
seventy-three  acres  and  seventy-nine  poles,  as  measured  by  Mr.  Fisk. 
the  "  artis." 

The  third  division  is  described  as  "The  third  diuision  for  the 
Remander  of  the  wood  Land  one  the  este  sid  the  mill  brook  called  the 
three  hundred  ackrs  Begining  at  sargent  Skiners  Lote  and  are  to  rune 
40  poles  in  length."  Its  seventj'-four  lots  embraced  three  hundred 
and  eleven  acres  ^nid  fifty-eight  poles  of  the  woodland  between  Swain's 
Pond  and  Scadan.  [Now  known  as  "  South  East,"  and  includes  the 
high  summit  of  Mount  Hood.] 

The  balance  of  these  "Commons"  now  di\-idecl,  was  on  terri- 
tory now  Maiden.  There  were  seventy-four  proprietors  and 
freeholders  who  shared  in  this  allotment;  the  names  are  all 
given  by  Mr.  Core}',  in  his  History  of  Maiden,  pp.  376-7. 

Soon  after  this  division  w-as  made  many  of  the  lots  were  sold 
to  persons  who  had  no  interest  in  the  common  land,  and  about 
the  year  1700,  many  of  the  people  who  already  owned,  or  now- 
bought,  began  to  build  houses  and  settle  upon  their  lots. 

A  piece  of  land  at  the  eastern  end  of  Ell  Pond,  where  now^ 
stand  the  ice-houses,  was  reser\ed  for  a  watering  place,  and 
for  the  washing  of  flax,  the  material  of  which  the  home-made 
clothing  of  the  early  inhabitants  was  made.  It  appears  that 
the  abutters  began  to  encroach  upon  this  public  water  resort, 
and  April  17,  1699,  Corporal  John  Green,  Phineas  Upham,  and 
Joseph  Floyd  were  chosen  to  run 

y*^  bounds  and  renew  }•«  marks  between  proprioters  land :  and  3-^ 
small  peece  of  common  land :  adjoining  to  L  pond  :  which  was  left  for 
convenence  of  watering. 

Still  later,  at  the  annual  meeting  held  March  4,  1765,  another 
x'Ote  concerning  this  public  privilege  was  passed: 

It  was  put  to  vote  to  see  if  the  town  will  give  liberty  to  mr  Samuel 
Green  and  others  to  run  a  fence  between  ell  pond  and  the  highway, 
provided  they  leve  a  convenient  way  open  for  watering  of  cattle  at  the 
pond  And  keep  convenient  draw  bars  or  a  gate  for  people  to  pass  and 
repass  with  their  teams  in  the  usual  place  of  their  going  to  and  from 
said  pond  with  their  tlax.     .\nd  it  passed  in  the  affermative. 

MELROSE. 

At  the  time  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad  was  completed,, 
the  territory  of  Melrose,  then  know^n  as  "North  Maiden,"  and 
earlier   as    "  North    End,"  was    very  sparsely  settled.      Very 


TERRITORY. 


21 


soon  after  it  commenced  operation.  July  4,  1845,  people  from 
Boston  and  other  places,  began  to  investigate  our  pleasant 
vale  for  residences;  and  in  a  short  time  many  families  had 
here  made  their  homes.  The  church,  business,  town  and  social 
relations  were  so  separated  from  the  centre  and  main  town  of 
Maiden,  that  the  citizens  began  to  agitate  a  separation  from 
the  mother  town,  and  the  setting  up  of  a  municipality  b\-  itself; 
and  in  1848,  and  1849,  ^^'^^^  matter  was  most  earnestly  can- 
vassed, and  action  taken.  On  March  22,  1849,  ^n  act  was 
reported  to  the  House  of  Representatives  for  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  Town  of  Melrose,  which  was  passed  April  10, 
almost  unanimously;  but  it  failed  to  receive  the  concurrence 
of  the  Senate  b}-  a  vote  of  twenty-seven  to  three."^ 

Later  in  this  same  year,  1849,  Maiden,  foreseeing  that  with 
these  railroad  facilities,  and  the  varied  and  natural  beauty  of 
our  situation,  we  should  in  a  very  few  >'ears  become  a  growing, 
thrift)'  and  prosperous  community,  and  cherishing  the  most 
kindly  and   friendly  feelings   for   their  brethren  in  the  north 

part  of  the  town,  wisely  con- 
cluded to  make  no  further 
objection  to  such  separation; 
and,  at  a  legal  meeting  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  town  of 
Maiden,  held  Nov.  26,  1849, 
it  was  voted: 

To  choose  a  committee  to  view 
and  report  to  the  town  such  line 
as  the  committee  shall  think  to 
be  the  proper  line  between  the 
town  of  Maiden  and  the  pro- 
posed town  of  Melrose. 

The  selectmen  were  chosen 
to  act  on  this  committee;  and 
at  a  town  meeting  held  Dec. 
21,    1849,   the    selectmen   re- 


ayz 


\ 


ported  the  divisional  line  which  was  then  adopted  and  is  in 
existence  today.  The  town  also  \oted  at  this  same  meeting, 
to  instruct  their  Representative  elect 

*  Diary   kept  by  the  late    Aarou  called  Melrose  —  was  to  be  set  off 

Green,  for  1849.     But  so  thoroughly  from   Maiden,  that  assessors   were 

convinced     was     every     one      that  appointed  to  take  the  valuation  of 

North      Maiden  —  now     regularly  this  part  of  the  town ;  and  accord- 


22  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

that  if  the  inhabitants  of  Meh'ose  petition  tlie  Legislature  for  the  divi- 
sion Hne  as  reported  by  the  Selectmen  to  advocate  the  setting  off  of 
Melrose  but  if  any  other  line  be  asked  for  then  to  oppose  the  setting 
off. 

A  petition  was  presented  to  the  Legislature  early  in  1850, 
by  Elbridge  Green  and  others,  praying  that  the  northerly  part 
of  Maiden,  which  had  been  called  North  Maiden  for  many 
years,  be  set  off  and  incorporated  as  a  separate  town  to  be 
called  Melrose. 

At  a  town  meeting  held  in  Maiden,  February  7,  1850,  it  was 
voted: 

That  whereas,  a  petition  had  been  presented  to  the  Legislature, 
by  Elbridge  Green  and  others,  praying  that  the  northerlj^  section 
of  Maiden  may  be  set  off  and  incorporated  as  a  separate  town,  to  be 
called  Melrose,  and  whereas  an  order  of  notice  has  been  issued  on 
said  petition  therefore,  Resolved,  That  we,  the  citizens  of  Maiden 
in  town  meeting  assembled,  called  according  to  law,  to  act  on  said 
order  of  notice,  do  hereb}'  express  our  approval  of  said  petition. 

Resolved,  That  the  line  of  separation  petitioned  for  is  a  proper  line, 
and  one  that  meets  our  approval,  and  which,  in  our  opinion,  ought  to 
be  adopted,  and  the  prayer  of  said  petition  be  granted. 

Resolved,  That  the  representative  be,  and  he  is,  hereby  instructed 
to  aid  the  petition,  in  all  honorable  ways,  to  accomplish  the  object  of 
their  petition,  keeping  always  in  view  the  interest  of  the  town  in  word- 
ing the  act  of  incorporation. 

The  Joint  Special  Committee,  in  reporting  to  the  Legisla- 
ture, April  27,  1850,  among  other  advantages  enumerated 
these: 

This  part  of  the  town,  which  bears  the  name  of  Melrose,  is  separated 
from  the  other  by  a  natural  barrier ;  the  proposed  line  of  division  run- 
ning through  a  wild,  unimproved,  and  almost  uninhabitable  territory, 
constituting,  in  most  respects,  a  far  better  boundary  than  a  line  passing 
through  a  cultivated  and  populous  region,  cutting  farms,  and  sep- 
arating immediate  neighbors  into  different  towns. 

The  business  and  social  relations  of  Melrose  are  not  with  the  other 

ing  to  this  same  diary,  now  iu  the  rose  as  appeared  iu  1849.  A  True 
possession  of  Maurice  G.  Cochrane,  Coppy  From  Maiden  Book.  Real 
a  grandson  of  the  diarist,  they  Estate,  336,352 ;  Personal  Estate, 
commenced  their  duties  May  i,  of  48,509;  Total,  $384,861.  Number 
that  year,  and  finished  May  11.  Polls,  272.  Aaron  Green,  S.  h. 
The  result  as  given  in  a  written  Taylor,  W.  J.  P'arnsworth,  asses- 
poster  was  as  follows  :  sors  of  Melrose. 
Valuation  of   the   Town   of  Mel- 


TERRITORY.  23 

portions  of  Maiden ;  it  seems  to  form  a  distinct  community,  and,  in  the 
opinion  of  the  committee,  is  destined  to  become  a  separate  town,  and 
that  a  separation  would  contribute  to  the  convenience,  harmony,  and 
prosperity  of  the  inhabitants,  and  would  be  no  injury  or  disadvantage 
to  the  remaining  part  of  Maiden.  It  would  leave  a  fine,  pleasant, 
and  prosperous  town,  within  full  \iew,  and  in  the  immediate  vicinity 
of  Boston,  affording-  many  eligible  building  sites,  and  containing  num- 
erous valuable  farms. 

In  accordance  with  the  mutually  expressed  wishes  of  the 
inhabitants  of  both  sections,  an  act  was  drawn  and  reported 
to  the  Legislature,  which  was  adopted;  and  Melrose  was  in- 
corporated May  3,  1850.  It  then  had  1,260  inhabitants,  and 
an  assessed  valuation  of  $483,446.00. 

A  committee  of  three  from  each  town  was  appointed  "  to 
make  a  just  and  ecjuitable  settlement  of  all  the  financial 
concerns  appertaining  to  said  towns  &  the  property  belong- 
ing to  the  same."  Gilbert  Hax-en,  Lemuel  Cox,  and  Daniel 
A.  Perkins  were  appointed  for  Maiden,  and  George  Emerson, 
Isaac   Emerson  and  Aaron   Green   for   Melrose. 

In  1853,  that  part  of  Maiden  which  was  set  off  to  Stone- 
ham  in  1734,  most  of  the  territory  of  which  is  now  known 
as  the  Melrose  Highlands,  and  which  embraced  also  what 
is  now-  the  Sewall  Woods  Park,  containing  about  twenty-five 
houses  with  sevent}--fi\'e  inhabitants,  was  set  off  and  annexed 
to  Melrose.  The  residence  of  Hon.  Samuel  E.  Sewall  was 
until  then  in  Stoneham;  and  he  was  elected  Senator  to  the 
Massachusetts  Legislature  in  1852,  from  that  town.  A  move- 
ment had  begun  sometime  previous  to  this  to  have  this  sec- 
tion set  off  to  the  new  town  of  Melrose,  for  the  reason  that 
the  inhabitants  could  be  much  better  accommodated  with 
school,  church,  business,  and  town  facilities.  For  this  pur- 
pose an  act  was  introduced  in  the  Legislature  of  1852,  but 
it  was  unsuccessful.  The  next  year  an  act  of  annexation 
was  passed,  March  15,  1853,  thus  adding  three  hundred  and 
eighty-one  acres  to  the  area  of  our  territory,  making  a  total  of 
thirty-one  hundred  and  fourteen  and  seventy  one-hundredths 
acres. 

Melrose  is  situated  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  County  of 
Middlesex,  and  is  se\en  miles  directly  north  of  Boston.  It 
is  bounded  on  the  north  by  Wakefield,  on  the  east  b\-  Saugus, 
(which  is  in  the  Count}'  of  Essex,)  on  the  south   by  Maiden, 


24 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


and  the  west  by  Stoneham,  and  a  small  corner  of  Medford. 
Its  shape  is  somewhat  irregular,  having  a  width  on  the  Wake- 
field line  of  about  a  mile  and  a  half,  on  the  Saugus  line  two 
and  a  half  miles,  a  little  less  than  three  miles  on  the  Maiden, 

and  nearly  two  and  a  half 
miles  on  the  Stoneham  and 
Medford  line. 

It  is  most  charmingly  sit- 
uated, possessing  a  surface 
diversified  with  a  great  \'ari- 
ety  of  natural  scenery;  it  has 
hills,  valleys,  ponds,  streams 
and  wildwoods;  it  contains  a 
portion  of  the  famous  Mid- 
dlesex Fells,  now  embraced 
in  the  extensive  Metropoli- 
tan Park  System.  It  is  particularly  fortunate  in  possessing 
numerous  high  and  unwooded  summits,  from  which  may  be 
obtained  unobstructed  views  of  ocean,  cities,  towns,  wood 
ranges,  surro.unding   hills   and   distant   mountain   peaks. 

Perhaps  the  one  from  Mount  Hood  —  formerly  known  as 
"  Bear  Hill,"  situated  in  the  southeasterl}'  part  of  the  town, 
near  the  line  between  Melrose  and  Saugus,  affords  the  most 
interesting  and  far-reaching  of  these  views;  although  not  so 
much  of  our  own  valley  and  its  residences  is  seen,  as  from 
some  of  those  more  centrally  located.  In  a  clear  day  the  view 
is  one  of  great  grandeur.  Some  fifteen  years  ago,  Mr.  Wen- 
dell P.  Hood  built  a  small  house  on  the  top  of  this  mount, 
sunk  a  well,  set  out  fruit  trees,  and  ploughed  and  sowed  several 
of  the  surrounding  acres  with  grain.  But  in  process  of  time 
the  house  was  burned,  cultivation  neglected,  and  the  region 
has  now  resumed  its  wild  and  old-time  appearance. 

From  this  summit,  beginning  in  the  northerly  direction,  in 
plain  \'ievv,  there  rises  the  extensive  establishment  of  the 
Danvers  Insane  Asylum;  thence  the  eye  sweeps  along  over 
the  Lynn  Woods  Reservation,  crowned  with  the  Lynn  Water 
Works  standpipe,  which  is  situated  on  Pine,  or  Reservoir  Hill, 
to  the  City  of  Lynn,  the  Town  of  Nahant,  and  a  portion  of 
Swampscot,  with  the  Town  of  Saugus  nestling  in  the  interven- 
ing valley;  then  from  Lynn  Harbor,  a  strt'tch  of  ocean  sweeps 
around  to  the  south  shore  and  Boston   Harbor,  dotted  with  the 


TERRITORY. 


25 


white  sails  of  commerce  and  pleasure,  and  the  smoke  of 
passing  steamers;  Boston  Light  and  Minot's  Ledge  Light- 
house are  in  view;  over  the  towns  of  Winthrop  and  Revere, 
and  the  cities  of  Chelsea  and  Everett,  the  gilded  dome  of  the 
State  House  rises  from  out  of  the  midst  of  the  "Hub;"  heyontl 
stretches  the  long  line  of  Blue  Hills  of  Milton,  with  the 
observatory  on  the  summit  of  Great  Blue  Hill,  the  whole 
being  now  known  as  the  Blue  Hills  Reservation,  and  is  a 
part  of  the  Metropolitan  Park  System;  in  the  west,  beyond  a 
reach  of  wilderness,  known  as  the  "Scadan  Woods,"  ^  glimpses 
of  Maiden  are  seen,  with  Wayte's  Mount,  crowned  with  the 
Maiden  Reservoir;  beyond  is  College  Hill  with  its  cluster  of 
Tufts  College  buildings;  and  above  the  intcr\cning  towns  and 
hills,  far  away,  is  seen  the  crown  of  Mount  Wachusett;  while 
still  farther  north,  over  Melrose  itself,  with  the  hills  be>-ond, 
stands  old  Monadnock  and  many  other  summits;  the  whole 
presenting  a  most  enchanting  and  soul-inspiring  scene. 

Nearer  the  center  of  the  town,  yet  in  the  southerh'  part,  on 
the  easterly  side  of  the  valle)-,  Boston  Rock  commands  a 
wonderfully  charming  landscape;  the  \alley  below  with  the 
extensive  plant  of  the  Boston  Rubber  Shoe  Company,  and  the 
still  remaining  old-time  Lynde  homesteads,  and  many  highl\- 
cultivated  acres;  Wyoming  Cemetery — "  God's  Acre," — where 
sleep  those  who  have  joined  the  "  silent  majority,"  directl>- 
beneath;  an  expanse  of  ocean;  the  cities  of  Maiden,  Everett, 
Chelsea,  Somerville,  Charlestown  and  Boston,  and  the  Blue 
Hills  beyond;  nearer,  the  Pine  Banks  Park  and  Wayte's  Mount, 
on  which  summit  was  placed  one  of  the  beacons  during  the 
Revolution,  with  which  to  warn  the  surrounding  country  of 
approaching  danger.  For  a  number  of  years  Boston  Rock 
was  the  home  of  a  hermit.^" 

*  Quite  au  extensive  tract,  being       roads,  some  still  in  use,  were  laid 


all  that  territory  embracing  the 
eastern  part  of  Maiden,  beyond 
Faulkner,  including  "Black  Ann's 
Corner,"  and  the  southeastern 
portion  of  Melrose  adjoining,  was 
known  under  the  general  name  of 
"Scadan."  It  had  within  its  bor- 
ders, not  only  hills,  woods,  swamp, 
plain  and  upland,  but  a  number  of 
inhabitants  were  scattered  through- 
out  its   territory.      A    number    of 


out  therein,  by  a  committee  ap- 
pointed by  the  town,  April  8,  1695, 
the  details  of  which  are  given  by 
Corey  in  his  History  of  I\Ialden, 
pp.  372-3. 

i'^  The  name  of  this  hermit  was 
J.  Wesley  Dodge,  whose  mind  had 
become  unsettled  in  a  love  affair, 
and  who,  about  .1852,  erected  a 
small  house  and  workshop  on  the 
summit    of    this    rock,    where    he 


26 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Across  the  valley, , on  the  west,  there  is  a  line  of  rugged 
hills,  embi-acing  the  finest  cliff  scenery  in  the  vicinity  of 
Boston,  in  the  centre  of  which  Black  Rock,  the  highest  point 
is  situated,  and  from  which  a  ver_v  extensive  and  most  beau- 
tiful \-iew  is  obtained;  even  more  extensive  than  that  from 
Boston  Rock,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  valley,  as  it  is 
considerably  higher;  not  only  the  open  plain  below  with 
the  many  grass  co\-ered  and  cultivated  acres,  but,  on  either 
hand  the  Cities  of  Melrose  and  Maiden,  lay  spread  out  before 
you  in  their  entirety.  The  \'iew  in  the  east  and  south  is  quite 
similar  to  that  from  Mount  Hood,  already  described;  but  to  the 
west  it  is  quite  different,  as  it  appears  to  be  a  dense  wilderness; 
but  this  wilderness  somewhat  belies  its  appearance;  for  it  has 
not  onl}'  long  been  penetrated  by  innumerable  foot-paths,  but 
now  has  been  thoroughly  interlaced  with  good  roads  and  fine 
boulex'ards,  made  under  the  superintendence  of  the  Metropoli- 
tan Park  Commissioners,  which  afford  a  \ariety  of  most  charm- 
ing drives  to  the  thousands  upon  thousands  of  pleasure  seekers 
who  avail  themselves  of  the  wild  scenery  embraced  in  the 
Middlesex  Fells;  and  it  is  a  perfect  paradise  for  bicycle 
riders.  And  here,  in  the  centre  of  the  bold  and  rugged  cliffs 
which  guard  the  eastern  edge  of  the  Fells,  between  Black 
Rock  and  White  Rock,  plainly  in  view  from  the  passing 
railroad  trains  and  electric  cars,  a  large  portion  of  the  year, 
comes  gliding  down  from  the  brow  of  these  cliffs,  a  most 
beautiful  waterfall  which  forms  one  of  the  many  attractions 
of  this  wild  region.  This  cascade  is  as  attractive,  and  as 
well  worth  seeing,  as  many  another,  to  which  traxellers  go 
hundreds  of  miles  to  admire.  The  swamps  of  the  numerous 
valleys,  the  springs  of  the  hills,  and  the  overflow  of  many 
little  lakelets  existing  in  the  elevated  plateau  above,  far 
more  extensive  than  any  one  unacquainted  with  them  can 
imagine,  unite  to  contribute  their  waters  to  this  most  charm- 
ing   waterfall.      One    of    its    tributaries,  the    main    one,    bears 


lived  as  a  recluse.  He  had  au 
inventive  cast  of  mind,  but  his 
principal  occupation  was  that  of 
a  stencil -cutter.  He  afterwards 
married  and  lived  at  Oak  Grove, 
Maiden,  and  his  former  house  was 
burned.  The  cellar-hole  still  ex- 
ists.     He  died  a  few  years  ago.      A 


very  pretty  romance  connected  with 
these  circumstances  was  contrib- 
uted to  the  Roundabout  Budget, 
under  the  title  "  The  Hermit  of 
Boston  Rock,'.'  by  B.  Marvin  Fer- 
uald.  It  was  afterwards  printed  in 
the  Melrose  Jourtial  of  March  3, 
1888. 


TERRITORY. 


27 


the  unique  name  of  "  Shilly-Shally  Brook."  In  dry  seasons 
the  supply  of  water  is  so  meagre  that  its  beauty  disappears, 
only  to  come  again  when  the  rains  and  snows  of  another 
season  form  a  supply.  In  the  winter  a  very  interesting  ice- 
work  formation  affords  a  pleasing  exhibition  to  the  visitor. 
Of  this  cascade,  the  late  Artemas  Barrett  gave  this  reminis- 
cence: 

From  cutting  of  the  forest  to  clear  the  land,  and  turning  the  water 
in  other  directions  this  cascade  Hows  but  little  compared  with  forty 
years  ago.  In  my  boyhood  with  what  admiration  have  I  gazed  upon 
this  cascade  from  this  very  spot,  as  the  waters  came  tumbling  in  such 
torrents  down  those  rocky  sides.     Many  have  been  the  nights  in  my 


SPOT  POND  BROOK  CASCADE. 


youth  after  retiring  to  rest,  [he  then  lived  in  the  old  "  Mountain 
House,"  at  the  corner  of  Maple  and  Vinton  Streets]  that  I  have 
listened  to  the  music  of  these  falls  when  the  waters  went  plunging  and 
roaring  down  its  rocky  pathway.  Alas,  its  glory  has  now  nearly 
departed ! 

Another  pretty  but  smaller  waterfall,  which  ma\-  be  called 
Spot  Pond  Brook  Cascade,  is  situated  not  far  from  the  one 
just  described,  on  Spot  Pond  Brook,  a  short  distance  north  of 
where  formerly  stood  the  IIa\-wardvillc  Rubber  Works,  better 
known  as  the   Red   Mills.    Years  asfo  the  brook  was  dammed 


28  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

to  make  a  pond  of  water  for  water-power  purposes  of  the  near- 
by mill,  and  this  cascade  is  its  o\'erflow. 

The  water  that  supplies  Spot  Pond  Brook  no  lonj^er  comes 
from  Spot  Pond  itself,  but  from  Doleful  and  Dark  Hollow 
Ponds,  which  are  small  ponds  situated  a  short  distance  to  the 
north  and  west,  respectively,  of  Spot  Pond.  These  waters  do 
not  now  flow  as  formerl>'  into  Spot  Pond,  but  b\-  open  channel 
and  conduits  are  taken  beneath  that  pond  just  west  of  Old 
Pepe's  Cove,  and  thus  supply  Spot  Pond  Hrook. 

Unlike  the  Cascade  between  l^lack  and  White  Rocks,  which 
is  lion  est  in  midsummer,  the  waters  from  these  two  sources, 
Doleful  and  Dark  Hollow  Ponds,  are  sufficient  to  maintain 
this  waterfall  constant!)-;  sometimes  it  is  necessary  to  hold 
back  by  ,q;ates  a  portion  of  the  water,  during-  a  wet  season, 
to  prevent  too  great  an  oxerflow;  thus  inundating  the  lower 
lands  of  Melrose. 

This  charming  , little  waterfall,  picturesquely  situated  in  a 
deep  gorge,  easily  reached,  is  about  ten  feet  high,  and  directly 
over  it  is  a  rustic  bridge,  the  view  from  which  is  wild  and 
romantic.  Thus  by  the  action  of  the  State  in  taking  Spot 
Pond  into  the  Metropolitan  Water  S>'stem,  enlarging  and 
beautifying  it  as  it  has,  has  Ijeen  added  another  attraction  to 
the  scenery  of  Melrose,  which  had  ceased  to  exist  after  the 
taking  of  Spot  Pond  for  the  supply  of  water  for  Maiden, 
Medford  and  Melrose. 

West  Hill,  erstwhile  called  "  \'inton  Hill,"  then  "High 
Rock,"  situated  in  the  northwest  corner  of  Melrose,  near  the 
Stoneham  and  Wakefield  line,  easily  accessible  from  P'ranklin 
Street,  atTords  another  \-iew  of  this  charming  scener}';  more 
far-reaching  than  either  Boston  Rock  or  Black  Rock,  but 
not  more  extensi\'e  than  that  from  Mount  Hood,  although 
differing  from  that  somewhat. 

From  this  summit  is  obtainod  by  far  the  i)est  \iew  oi  our 
own  Melrose,  as  it  embraces  the  city  in  all  its  \-arious  parts, 
with  the  exception  of  the  western  portion  of  Wyoming,  which 
is  hidden  by  the  interxening  Sewall  Woods  Park;  all  its 
hills  and  \alleys;  its  churches,  public  buildings  and  dwellings 
from  the  extreme  southerly  part  at  the  I^Ydls  to  the  Melrose 
Highlands  in  the  north,  including  P^ordell  and  Columbus 
Parks,  and  the  settlement  of  (ireenwood,  in  Wakc^field,  just 
beyond.     And    riijht    here    1    venture    the   assertion    that    but 


TERRITORY. 


29 


comparatively  few  of  our  thirteen  thousand  inhabitants  ever 
availed  themselves  of  the  beaut>'  and  ma;j;nificence  of  this 
exquisite  view,  afforded  them  from  this  eminence  existin.L,^  in 
their  very  midst,  so  easily  reached,  and  with  so  little  exertion! 

Mt.  Zion,  in  the  extreme  northeast,  and  Pine  Hill  in 
the  east,  are  minor  summits,  affording  a  less  extentled  view 
than  those  already  mentioned;  thus  is  our  residential  valley 
centre  completely  surrounded  by  elevations  from  which  so 
much  can  be  seen.  One  more  >'et  remains  to  be  spoken  of; 
Barrett  Mount,  situated  in  the  westerly  centre  of  the  city. 
From  this  you  not  onl.\'  i^et  a  distant  view -down  the  valley, 
but  a  near  overlook  of  the  whole  cit\',  in  all  directions; 
nestled  in  the  valley  and  climbing  the  hillsides  are  the  resi- 
dences of  our  busy  population;  church  spires  and  public 
buildings;  and  in  the  very  centre  lies  Ell  Pond,  with  the 
recently  purchased  land  for  park  purposes  on  its  northerh- 
side,  and  many  handsome  residences  on  its  immediate  border." 

Ell  Pond  is  the  largest  body  of  water  within  the  bounds  of 
Melrose.  It  contains  about  30  acres,  and  was  so  named  from 
its  shape.  It  was  thus  known  as  early  as  1638,  in  the  Charles- 
town  records.  In  legal  documents  it  has  been  variously 
spelled  as  Ell,  P^le,  Eel  and  L;  the  different  spelling  proba- 
bly arising  from  a  misapprehension  of  the  sound.  In  1648, 
say  the  Charlestown  records:  "  Robt.  Hale  and  Thomas  Lynde 
were  ordered  to  '  lay  out  \-ong  Thomas  Coitmores  twoo  lotts 
by  Ell  pond.'" 

In  the  inventory  of  the  widow  Martha  Coytmore's  estate, 
made  in  1648,  appears  the  item:  "150  acres  land  at  ell  pond;" 
and  when  the  road  from  Winnissemit  to  Reading  was  laid  out 
in  1653,  it  was  called  the  same.  Thus  earl>-  known  and  named 
let  us  reverence  and  continue  the  old  name  and  not  try  to 
change  it  for  something  a  little  more  mellifluous,  possilily. 

As  early  as  1663,  a  dam  was  l)uilt  at  the  outlet  of  Ell   Pond, 


"  Nestling  withiu  an  embrace  of 
hills  of  unusual  attractiveness,  in 
their  native  ruggeduess  and  shaded 
slopes,  lives  one  portion  of  the 
town,  while  on  many  a  command- 
ing site  are  pleasant  homes  which 
sweep  at  a  glance  the  country 
round,  including  lake  and  wood, 
peaceful  plain  and  shaded  hilltop, 


inland  stream  and  ocean  wave. — 
the  church  spire,  the  school  house 
and  the  town  house —  exhibiting  at 
one  view  the  beauty  which  adorns 
your  prosperity  and  the  enterprise 
which  evidences  your  appreciatiou 
of  opportunities.  Address  of  George 
F.  Stone,  at  the  dedication  of  the 
Town  Hall,  June  17.  1S73.     MSS. 


30  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

by  Samuel  Howard,  whose  dwelling  was  nearby,  and  a  saw- 
mill erected.  A  dense  forest  of  large  cedar  trees  once  existed 
on  the  north  side  of  the  pond.  Fifty  }'ears  later  it  would 
seem  that  the  surrounding  timber  had  been  so  exhausted 
that  the  mill  had  been  converted  into  a  grist  or  cornmill,  as 
it  is  thus  referred  to  in  a  deed  from  Jonathan  Howard  to 
Samuel   Howard,  wheelwright,  dated  Jan.  8,  1721. 

In  this  pond  both  shad  and  alewives  used  to  be  taken  in 
large  numbers  giving  food  to  the  earlier  inhabitants.  Fish 
ladders  were  formerly  made  at  the  mill-dams  on  the  brooks 
below,  to  enable  the  fish  to  reach  the  pond;  and  when  the 
mill-owners  came  to  make  opposition  to  this  method,  it  is 
said  that  the  fish  were  carried  to  the  pond  in  tubs  of  water. 
Rev.  S.  Osgood  Wright,  in  his  discourse  at  Maiden,  Dec. 
I,  1831,  states  that 

much  excitement  has  prevailed  at  different  periods  in  the  town,  since 
1695.  concerning  the  passage  of  alewives  from  the  tide-water  up  to  Ell 
Pond,  in  the  north  part  of  the  town.  Much  time  and  money  have  been 
expended  upon  this  subject,  to  little  or  no  purpose. i- 

The  water  is  not  as  high  now  as  formerl}';  the  time  has  been 
when  it  flowed  up  towards  the  Highlands  quite  a  distance 
beyond  its  present  limits.  In  1S62,  an  animated  controversy 
took  place  among  our  citizens;  one  party  wishing  to  lower 
the  water,  the  other  to  have  it  remain  as  it  was.  Those  in 
favor  of  lowering  it  pre\-ailcd;  and  in  consequence  wells 
became  dry,  border  walls  tumbled,  and  consequent  damages 
were  paid  by  the  town.  The  pond  is  fed  by  two  or  three 
bro.oks  which  enter  it  from  the  west  and  north,  the  prin- 
cipal one  taking  its  rise  in  the  northwesterly  part  of  the 
Highlands;  and  so  great  is  the  supply  that  water  is  always 
flowing  from  its  outlet  at  Main  Street,  at  its  southeast 
corner. 

An  efl'ort  was  made  a  few  years  ago  to  change  the  name 
of  this  prett)'  little  sheet  of  water  in  the  centre  of  our  city, 
from  Ell  Pond  to  Crystal  Lake;  and  this  new  name  has  crept 
into  some  of  the  ma})s.  But  the  old  one,  and  many  others 
in    our    immediate    neighborhood.   Spot,    M)-stic,    Horn,    Spy, 

1-  The    Alewife  fishery  was  con-  late  matters.     Sometimes  the  right 

sidered  of  considerable  importance  to  fish  during  the  season  was  sold 

by  the  town  and  committees  were  to   the   highest   bidder.     Letter  of 

chosen  from  time  to  time  to  regu-  Deloraine  I'.  Corey,  April  24,  1899. 


TERRITORY.  31 

Long,  Swain's,  Smith's  and  Humphrey's,  received  their  names 
from  the  early  settlers;  ours  as  early  as  1638,  and  frequent 
mention  of  it  as  such,  occurs  in  deeds  and  records  all  the 
\va)'  down  the  centuries;  and  "succeeding  generations  have 
reverenced  the  first  nomination."  During  the  year  1874,  the 
"Crystal  Lake  Boat  Club"  was  formed  ,and  a  boat-house 
built  near  the  outlet  of  the  pond  on  Main  Street;  and  for 
several  seasons  rowing  and  sailing  on  the  pond  was  \'ery 
popular,  and  man>-  boat  races  took  place;  but  like  the  effort 
to  change  the  name,  now  seldom  heard  in  speech,  if  ever, 
the  club  is  710H  est;  the  boat-house  stood  in  ruins  for  many 
years,  but  has  now  disappeared,  and  the  good  old  name 
remains. 

The  other  ponds  within  our  borders  are  .Swain's,  Bennett's, 
and  Long  Pond.  Until  within  a  few  years,  a  small  bod_\'  of 
water,  known  as  Dix  Pond,  existed  in  the  rear  of  City  Hall. 
It  has  now  been  filled  up  and  is  no  longer  one  of  the  ponds 
which  contributed  to  our  first  name,  "  Pond  Feilde." 

Swain's  Pond,  so  known  in  the  Maiden  records  as  early  as 
1695,  containing  an  area  of  sixteen  acres,  is  in  the  south  part 
of  the  town,  and  is  situated  in  a  wild  and  secluded  region,  with 
but  one  or  two  habitations  near  it,  being  now  used  only  for 
ice-cutting  purposes.  There  was  once,  in  days  gone  by,  a  saw- 
mill at  its  outlet,  when  the  surrounding  district  IkuI  a  plentiful 
suppl)'  of  timber. ^-^ 

Long  Pond,  containing  fi\'e  acres,  is  in  the  southeastern  part 
of  the  town.  Like  Swain's,  it  has  been  known  by  that  name 
since  1695;  and  like  both  Ell  and  Swain's  Ponds,  it  once  had 
its  sawmill,  which  was  situated  near  the  present  Upham 
Street,  on  the  brow  of  the  hill  nearly  opposite  the  residence 
of  John  Doherty,  and  a  portion  of  the  pond  still  exists  on  the 
northerly  side  of  the  street.  From  here  the  brook  descends, 
skirting  the  romantic  cliffs  on  the  right,  thence  on  till  it 
reaches  the  Saugus  River.  This  sawmill  is  referred  to  in  a 
deed  of  1783,  from  John  Flagg  to  John  Edmunds,  the  Revo- 
lutionar}'  soldier,  conveying  the  old    I^lnathan    ]h-eeden  house 

^^  The  site  of   the  mill   of  John  days   of   its   builder;    and    uii    the 

Grover  could  be  found  in  1894,  iu  west   side  of  the  brook  the   shape 

the  meadow  on  the  easterly  side  of  and  size  of  the  little  mill  could  be 

Swain's    Pond    Avenue,    near     its  traced.     Qorey,  //is/ory  o/J/ii/i/cn, 

junction  with  Lebanon  street.     The  447. 
dam  was  then  as  distinct  as  in  the 


32  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

and  land,  situated  on  the  old  Saugus  and  Lynn  road,  on  the 
present  Parker  estate,  wherein  liberty  was  granted  to  the 
owners  of  the  mill,  which  was  near  these  premises,  to  flow  a 
part  of  «aid  land  from  December  i  to  April  lo,  in  each  year. 
The  mill  and  the  house  have  long  since  disappeared.  In  this 
neighborhood,  a  little  to  the  east,  there  was  once  a  house 
belonging  to  a  family  b}'  the  name  of  Herring;  but  that  also 
is  a  thing  of  the  past;  nothing  but  the  cellar-hole  remains. 
What  was  known  as  Cowen's  dam,  the  site  of  which  is  a  con- 
tinuation of  Waverley  Avenue,  reaching  from  the  residence  of 
Frank  H.  Brown  to  the  road  leading  to  Andrew  J.  Burnett's 
homestead,  was  built  to  overflow  the  large  meadow  at  the  west 
of  the  Pond,  thus  giving  more  power  to  the  mill  pri\ilege. 

Another  outlet  to  Long  Pond  was  an  artificial  one,  made  at 
its  eastern  end,  by  a  sluice-wa\'  built  by  Frederick  Tudor,  in 
the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  centur)^,  and  who  also  built 
and.  lived  in  what  is  now  the  Saugus  Poor  House.  This 
outlet  was  made  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  the  overflow  of  the 
meadows  at  the  south  of  his  residence.  Here-  was  cut  in  a 
primitive  way,  for  commercial  purposes,  "  the  first  ice,  which 
was  teamed  to  Charlestown,  loaded  and  exported  to  the  West 
Indies,  where  it  was  sold  for  twenty-five  cents  per  pound. "^-^ 
John  Edmunds  was  one  of  the  workmen  at  this  time.  A 
iVIelrose  pond  thus  furnished  the  water  for  the  ice,  which  was 
here  first  cut,  and  first  exported  by  the  pioneers  in  that 
business,  the  Tudors. 

Bennett's  Pond  is  a  small  one  situated  in  the  northeast  part 
of  the  town,  and  is  now  only  utilized  for  the  cutting  of  ice. 
Its  outlet  is  one  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Saugus  River.  Like 
all  of  the  other  ponds,  it  once  had  its  dam  for  mill  purposes. 
A  gristmill  was  built  by  Robert  Gerry  in  i8i6,  who  then 
bought  of  Jonas  Green,  for  $25.00,  the  pri\ilege  of  flowing 
an  adjoining  pasture  to  a  certain  height.  This  mill  was 
burned  nearh'  half  a  century  ago.  South  of  this  pond,  in 
the  field,  about  a  third  of  the  way  between  it  antl  Porter 
Street,  there  exists  an  old  cellar-hole,  where  once  stood  the 
house  of  Samuel   Green.      During  the   Battle  of  Bunker   Hill, 

!■*  William  Tudor,   [agent  of  his  Bay  to  cut  ice  from  the  ice-bergs, 

brother    Frederick]    who   supplied  Edward    Everett    Hale,    in    James 

ice    to    the    tropics,    and    when    a  Russell  Lozvell  and   His   Friends, 

winter  failed  him  in  New  England,  p.  264. 
sent  his  schooners  up  into  Baffin's 


TERRITORY. 


33 


his  wife  Hannah,  was  so  friohtene.d  at  hearinsj  the  reports  of 
the  cannonade,  that  she  died  in  convulsions.  Possibly  a  hus- 
band, son  or  relative  had  gone  thither  to  participate  in  the 
fight  !  Up  to  within  a  few  years  there  existed  on  Franklin 
Street,  at  the  Highlands,  a  pretty  little  sheet  of  water, 
fringed  with  large  and  handsome  willows,  known  as  High- 
land Pond.  Hut  the  stream  which  entered  it,  on  its  way  to 
Ell  Pond,  has  been  di\'erted,  the  pond  drained,  its  bed  filled, 
and  all  signs  of  its  former  existence  have  disappeared;  and  a 
portion  of  its  site  is  now  occupied  b)'  the  old  church  building, 
which  stood  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street,  where  now 
stands  the  new  and  handsome  edifice  of  the  Highland  Con- 
gregational Church.  This  old  building  was  bought  b\'  the 
Shepard  ^Manufacturing  Company,  which  carries  on  a  large 
silver-ware   business  therein. 

Spot  Pond  is  not  within  the  limits  of  Melrose,  but  lies 
so  close  to  its  border,  and  has  been  so  closely  connected 
with  its  history  that  it  deserves  mention  here.  It  is  a  most 
beautiful  sheet  of  water,  .situated  among  the  higher  lands  of 
Stoneham  and  Medford.  The  surrounding  country  is  mostly 
wild  and  wooded;  but  there  are  a  few  fine  residences  on  its 
border,  with  the  "Langwood  Hotel"  charmingly  situated  on 
an   eminence,  overlooking   the   pond.^'^ 

This  view  was  taken  from  "Saddleback  Hill,"  near  "C)ld 
Pepe's  Cove,"  in  1S76,  and  shows  the  pond  as  it  appeared  when 
supplying  the  three  municipalities  of  Maiden,  Medford  and 
Melrose  with  water,  the  history  of  which  is  given  under  "  Spot 
Pond  Water  Works."  ^'^ 

Spot  Pond  is  first  mentioned  by  Governor  John  Winthrop  in 
his  Journal,  under  date  of  February  7,  1632.     He  sa\^s: 

The  governour,  Mr.  Nowell,  Mr.  Eliot,  and  others,  went  over  Mistick 
River  at  Medford,  and  going  N.  and  by  E.  among  the  rocks  about  two 
or  three  miles,  they  came  to  a  very  great  pond,  having  in  the  midst  an 
island  of  about  an  acre,  and  very  thick  with  trees  of  pine  and  beach ; 
and  the  pond  had  divers  small  rocks,  standing  up  here  and  there  in  it, 


'■'  Tlie  "  Laucjwood  "  was  burned 
April  I,  1902.  The  origiual  stone 
mansion  to  which  additions  had 
been  made  for  hotel  purposes,  is 
to  be  restored  and  used  for  a  sani- 


tarium, by   Dr.   Charles  H.  Coggs- 
well,  the  present  owner. 

"'  Reproduced  from  a  photograph 
by  Charles  E.  Swaiu.  the  negative 
being  owned  by  Frank.  E.  Wootl- 
ward,  of  Maiden. 


34 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


which  the}-  therefore  called  Spot  Pond.  The}-  went  all  about  it  upon 
the  ice.  From  thence  (towards  the  N.  W.  about  half  a  mile,)  the}- came 
to  the  top  of  a  very  high  rock,  beneath  which,  (towards  the  N.)  lies  a 
goodly  plain,  part  open  land,  and  part  woody,  from  whence  there  is 
a  fair  prospect,  but  it  being  then  close  and  rainy,  they  could  see  but  a 
small  distance.  This  place  they  called  Cheese  Rock,  [now  Bear  Hill, 
with  its  observatory,]  because,  when  they  went  to  eat  somewhat,  they 
had  only  cheese,  (the  governor's  man  forgetting,  for  haste,  to  put  up 
some  bread.) 


From  that  day  to  this  the  pond  has  borne  the  name  then 
gi\-en  it.  "Succeeding  generations  iiave  reverenced  the  first 
nomination." 

"  Spott  pond,"  with  its  island,  appears  on  a  map  of  this  part 
of  New  England,  in  \\'illiam  Wood's  Nczv  Englands  Prospect, 
which  was  published  two  }-ears  later,  in  1634. 

A  thrilling  tragedy,  the  murder  of  David  Gould,  occurred 
Nov.  25,  1819,  in  the  Gould  homestead,  then  standing  on  the 
Stoneham  road,  now  Pond  Street,  only  a  little  distance  from 
the  border  of  the  pond. 

The  inevitable  saw-mill  once  existed  at  the  pond's  outlet, 

long  a  thing  of  the  past, 
which  was  built  b}-  James 
Barrett,  in  1706. 

The  accompanying  repro- 
duction is.  from  a  sketch  b}- 
Hannah  L}'nde  in  1844.  The 
house  was  built  before  1700, 
was  torn  down  in  1 850,  and 
was  the  home  of  Jacob  Gould 
and  his  two  sons,  all  three 
GOULD  HOMESTEAD.  minute-meniu  Capt.  Samuel 

Sprague's   Compan)^  at    Lexington.     The  house   pillaged  and 
son   Da\-id  murdered  as  above. 

Spot  Fond  has  now  been  taken  into  the  great  Metropolitan 
Water  System,  and  has  become  a  storage  and  distributing 
reser\-oir,  and  is  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Metropolitan 
Water  and  Sewerage  Board.  To  prepare  the  Pond  for  this 
purpose,  the  State,  through  the  Metropolitan  Water  Board, 
before  its  consolidation  with  the  Board  of  Metropolitan  Sewer- 
age Commissioners,  in  1901,  expended  ^the  sum  of  $541,474.36, 
in  ^^draining,    cleaning,    excavating,]  and    enlarging;    in    gate- 


TERRITORY. 


35 


houses,  and  the  draining  of   Doleful  Pond  and   Dark   Hollow- 
Pond  into  Spot  Pond  Brook. ^" 

Spot  Pond  has  been  raised  to  a  minimum  depth  of  fifteen 
feet,  and  when  full  has  an  area  of  326  acres;  and  will  have  a 
level  of  twenty-nine  feet  above  that  of  Chestnut  Hill  reservoir. 
In  its  enlargement  its  former  beauty  has  been  greatly  enhanced. 


SPOT  POND— 1002. 

Showiug  Old    Pepe's  Cove,  Pond    Street,  Saddleback  Hill,  with    "Cheese  Rock,"  now 
Bear  Hill,  in  the  distance. 

Ell  Pond  Brook,  the  outlet  of  that  poiul,  runs  through  the 
centre  of  the  town  as  far  as  Wyoming,  where  it  is  joined  by 
the  Spot  Pond  Brook,  the  former  outlet  of  Spot  Pond,  but  now 
of  Doleful  and  Dark  Hollow  Ponds,  and  a  little  lower  down 
the  valley  "Shilly-Shall>-  Brook,"  from  the  neighboring  cas- 
cade, unites  its  waters  thereto.  These  brooks,  thus  united, 
continue  on  through  Melrose  and  Maiden,  flowing  into  ami 
forming  the  Maiden  River;  the  "Three  M>-le  Brooke"  of  "  \-^- 
olden  time."  Another  brook  in  the  northeastern  part  of  the 
cit\-  runs  into  Bennett's   Pond. 

Melrose   is  divided   into  several   tlistinct   villages,  or  settle- 

1'  Considerable  damage  has  Ijeeu  our   citizens   brought   suit  on  this 

caused  to  owners  of  lauds  abutting  account  against  the  Coniniouweallh 

on    Spot    Pond    Brook,    from    the  and  recovered   5109.56,    527.39  and 

drainage  of  these  two  ponds,  by  an  I100.79,  a  total   of  5237.74,  besides 

extra    overflow    of  water  ;   three  of  interest  and  costs. 


36 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


ments:  the  Middlesex  Fells, — generally  shortened  into  Fells, — 
and  Wyoming  in  the  southern  part  of  the  city;  the  Centre; 
the  Melrose  Highlands,  in  the  north, — each  of  these  having  a 
station  on  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad;  —  Norrisville  in 
the  northeast;  and  East  Side.  These  two  are  reached  by  the 
electric  cars  of  the  Lynn  and  Boston  Street  Railway  Com- 
pany; the  main  line  of  which,  through  the  centre  of  the  city, 
running  from  Chelsea  to  Woburn,  superceded  the  Maiden  and 
Melrose  Horse  Railroad  in  1892,  and  the  East  Side  branch 
commenced  running  in  1897. 

These  lines  are  now  met  by  the  Wakefield  Railway  Com- 
pany, at  the  junction  of  Main,  Franklin  and  Green  Streets, 
which  runs  through  Main  Street  to  Greenwood  and  Wakefield, 
and  thence  on  to  other  connections.  Many  different  lines  of 
street  railroads  have  now  been  consolidated  under  the  name 
of  the  Boston  and  Northern  Street  Railway  Company. 
'  Our  name,  Melrose,  was  adopted  by  the  advocacy  of  the 
late  William  Bogle,  a  natixe  of  Glasgow,  Scotland,  who  had 
been  a  resident  several  years  before  our  incorporation,  and 
before  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad  was  built,  in  1845,  ^"^1 
when  he  had  to  go  back  and  forth  to  his  business  in  Boston  by 
the  stage-coach  line  which  ran  between  Boston  and  Reading; 
and  which  was  established  in  1798.  Mr.  Bogle  evidently  had 
at  least  two  objects  in  x'\<t\\  in  offering  us  our  name:  one, 
a  sweet  sounding  one,  that  had  not 
been  in  common  use,  we  being  the 
first  to  adopt  it  in  our  country;  an- 
other, as  a  memorv'  of  his  nati\e  land.^'^ 


^*  The  uanie  was  adopted  by  a 
couimittee,  consistiug  of  the  late 
Hou.  Daniel  W.  Gooch,  William 
Bogle,  David  L.  Webster  and  Johu 
vSheltou,  which  met  at  Mr.  .Shel- 
tou's  house,  No.  75  Lake  Aveuue. 

In  this  connection  an  extract 
from  Mr.  Bogle's  will,  dated  Dec. 
ID,  1890,  is  of  interest  as  showing 
his  interest  in  Melrose,  and  indicat- 
ing a  future  possible  benefit  to  be 
derived  by  the  Melrose  Public 
Library.  Items.  "  Should  all  my 
children  die,  leaving  no  issue  of 
mine  surviving,  or  should  all  issue 


of  mine  die  before  mj'  youngest 
living  grandchild  arrives  at  the 
age  of  twenty-one  years,  then  said 
Trustees  shall  pay,  make  over,  and 
convey  the  whole  of  said  Trust 
Fund,  whether  consisting  of  real 
estate,  or  personal  property,  or 
both,  to  the  Town  of  Melrose, 
a  municipal  corporation  in  said 
Massachusetts,  and  to  which  the 
testator  gave  the  name  of  Melrose, 
to  which  Town  of  Melrose  under 
the  circumstances  above  named  to 
occur,  I  give,  devise  and  bequeath 
said  Trust  h'und,  whether  consist- 


TERRITORY.  37 

The  derivation  of  the  Scottish  Melrose  is  variously  defined 
by  different  authorities.  The  Gazetteer  of  Scotland  gives  its 
meaning  as  follows:  from  either  the  Irish  "  Moal  Ross"  —  a 
bold  promontory,  or  from  the  British  "Mell  Ross"  —  a  projec- 
tion of  meadow.  Sharp's  Gazetteer  of  the  British  Is/amis,  has  it 
"Moel"  or  "Mull  Rhos  "  —  a  point.  The  late  Prof.  Herbert 
B.  Adams,  in   a  letter  to  the  writer  says: 

Johns  Hopkins  University, 
Baltimore,  Feb.  14,  1883. 

Dear  Sir  :  —  I  have  taken  my  first  leisure  to  find  out  the  origin  of 
the  name  Melrose.  At  the  Peabody  Library  I  looked  in  vain  through 
a  dozen  or  more  books  of  names  of  places.  But  at  last  I  think  I  have 
struck  the  truth.  The  word  Melrose  is  Gaelic.  It  has  nothing  what- 
ever to  do  with  the  Latin  Mel  and  Rosa,  as  one  might  suppose.  It 
comes  from  the  Gaelic  Maol  meaning  "  the  brow  of  a  rock;  a  cape  or 
promontory,"  (see  Macleod  and  Dewar's  Dictionary  of  the  Gaelic 
Language),  and  from  Ros,  signifying  "a  promontory;  an  isthmus,  a 
peninsular,"  (see  same  Dictionary.)  The  two  words  together  appear 
to  mean  a  headland,  or  highland  projecting  into  water.  Considering 
the  fact  that  "  Old  Melrose  "  stood  upon  a  promontory  upon  the  south 
bank  of  the  Tweed,  two  miles  below  the  modern  Abbey,  the  above 
etymology  would  seem  to  cover  the.  ground.  This  \iew  is  further 
substantiated  by  the  Latin  name  of  the  old  cloister  annals  "Chronica 
de  Mailros,"  (731-1275  A.  D.)  If  the  word  Melrose  had  any  connec- 
tion with  the  Latin  Mel,  this  form  Mailros  would  be  inexplicable. 
I  have  seen  the  form  Moel  used  in  the  same  sense  as  Maol.  In  all 
probability  the  rocky  island  of  Mull,  which  ^^'illiam  Black  has  made  so 
interesting  in  his  novels,  derived  its  name  from  the  same  physical  idea 
of  a  promontory  as  may  be  seen  in  the  geography  of  "  Old  Melrose." 

Verj'  cordially  yours, 

Herbert  B.  Adams. 
iiig  of  real  estate  or  persoual  by  said  Towu  of  Melrose  to  the 
property,  or  both,  the  same  to  be  Scots  Charitable  Society  of  Boston, 
held  by  said  town,  as  a  perpetual  Massachusetts,  for  the  general  uses 
Trust  Fund,  and  to  be  called  the  and  purposes  of  said  society  ;  al- 
Bogle  Fund,  to  invest  the  same  and  ways  giving  to  said  towu  all  and 
keep  the  same  invested  as  a  Trust  the  same  powers  from  time  to  time 
Fund,  and  collect  the  income  and  to  sell  any  or  all  property,  real  or 
profits  thereof  and  therefrom,  and  persoual,  at  any  time  coustituting 
pay  quarterly  one-half  of  the  net  a  part  or  the  whole  of  said  Trust 
income  thereof  to  and  for  the  uses  Fund  as  is  hereinafter  given  to 
of  the  Public  Library  of  said  town,  my  Trustees,  and  the  right  to  rein- 
to  be  expended  yearly  in  aid  of  vest  the  proceeds  of  such  sales  in 
said  Public  Library  of  the  said  such  manner  as  said  towu  shall 
Town  of  Melrose,  the  other  half  of  deem  best  and  determine." 
said  net  income  to  be  paid  yearly 


38  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

John  Bower,  in  his  Description  of  the  Abbeys  of  Melrose ;  mid 
old  Melrose,  zvith  their  Traditions,  confirms  Prof.  Adams'  view: 

Old  Melrose,  or  Malerose,  which  is  a  mile  and  a  half  from  Melrose 
Abbey  to  the  east,  was  originally  called  Mull-ross,  signifying  a  bare 
promintory,  Ross,  in  the  ancient  language,  signifying  a  peninsular, 
and  Mull,  bare. 

But  in  his  description  of  the  ruined  Abbey,  he  gives  a  more 
poetic  signification: 

Upon  the  other  buttress  is  a  pedestal,  supported  by  the  thistle, 
having  the  mallet  and  rose  upon  the  shield,  for  Melrose,  of  which 
the  derivation  may  be  this  —  the  mell  is  intended  to  represent  the 
instrument  by  which  this  beautiful  fabric  was  erected;  and  b}^  the 
rose,  which  signifies  sweet,  it  maj-  well  be  termed  sweet  and  pleasant 
to  the  eye,  for  the  lightness  and  elegance  with  which  it  is  finished. 

The  earliest  local  name  applied  to  our  territory,  before  it 
came  to  be  known  as  "  Maiden  North  End,"  and  "  North  Mai- 
den," was  "Pond  Field;"  so  called  when  describing  the  posses- 
sions of  Ralph  and  Richard  Sprague,  around  Ell  Pond,  in  the 
Charlestoivn  Book  of  Possessions,  1638;  it  is  there  written  "  Pond 
feilde." 

Although  Melrose  is  one  of  the  younger  municipalities  of 
this  Commonwealth,  its  territory  had  been  occupied,  at  the  time 
of  its  incorporation,  for  a  period  of  o\-er  two  hundred  years. 
There  are  at  least  seven  families  whose  ancestors  made  their 
abode  in  this  beautiful  valley,  a  part  of  them  nearly,  and  a  part 
o\'er  two  centuries  and  a  half  ago.  These  are  the  Spragues, 
the  Greens,  the  Barretts,  the  Lyndes,  the  Uphams,  the  Vintons 
and  the  How^ards.  Descendants  of  all  of  them  are  among  its 
citizens  today. 

These  early  settlers  left  their  homes,  man}'  of  them  from 
over  the  sea,  and  came  into  this  then  unsettled  wilderness,  in- 
habited only  b}'  the  wild  Indian,  and  still  wilder  beasts,  and 
amid  trials  and  sufferings,  built  their  homesteads  and  founded 
their  families.  Long,  cold  and  dreary  winters  must  have  been 
theirs.  No  sound  of  church  bell  greeted  their  ears,  summon- 
ing them  to  the  worship  of  God.  Many  were  the  deprix'ations 
experienced,  many  the  hardships  endured.  Today  we  realize 
only  to  a  limited  degree  what  these  hardy  pioneers  passed 
through.^-'     But  they  possessed  noble  spirits,  persevering  and 

1''  They  were  possessed  of  iron  met  those  early  dangers  with  corn- 
wills   and    iron    nerve  ;     and    they       posure  ;  their  life  of  privation  and 


TERRITORY.  39 

upri.cjht  characters.  They  came  determined  to  succeed,  and 
succeed  they  did.  Would  that  we  had  a  minute  chronicle  of 
man\'  of  the  events  that  took  place  in  the  lixcs  of  these  early 
settlers  of  Melrose.  A  few  \-ears  arjo,  many  of  the  past  crcner- 
ation  were  living^,  who  could  have  related  much  pertaininfj  to 
the  earU-  histor\'  of  the  town,  which  the>-  had  received  from 
their  ancestors.  But  they  have  passed  away,  and  with  them 
man^•  local  incidents,  events  and  anecdotes  that  would  now  be 
interestini;-,  and  which  thc\- could  have  rehearsed,  are  no  longer 
attainable. 

In  those  earl\'  da>-s,  besides  the  prowling-  and  savage  Indian, 
our  surrounding  forests,  many  of  which  have  not  >-et  wholly 
disappeared,  were  full  of  wild  animals;  wolves,  deer,  bears, 
foxes,  and  wildcats.  So  plentiful  were  the;\'  that  laws  were 
passed  concerning  them,  and  bounties  offered  to  aid  in  the 
extermination  of  the  most  obnoxious  and  destructive  of  them. 
A  law  was  passed  by  the  Colony,  in  1630,  giving  bounty  for 
the  killing  of  wolves;  one  in  1635  for  wolves  and  foxes;  and  in 
1640,  the  following  law  was  passed: 

Ordered,  that  every  man  that  kills  a  wolfe  w'''  hounds  shall  have  40s 
alowed  him.  &  whosoever  kils  a  wolfe  w^'^  trap,  peece,  or  other 
engine,  shall  have  lo^  alowed  him,  to  bee  paid  by  that  towne  where 
the  wolfe  is  killed,  &  if  hee  bee  kiled  out  of  any  towne  bounds  it  shall 
bee  paid  by  the  Treasurer. 

Wood,  in  Xeiv  Englands  Prospect,  speaks  of  the  "three  great 
a.nno\-ances,  of  wolves,  rattle-snakes  and  mosquitoes." 

The  former  were  nightly  visitors  among  the  unprotected  herds  and 
flocks.  In  the  time  of  deep  snows  they  hung  around  the  settlements 
in  great  packs,  and  their  fierce  barking  was  a  terror  to  man  as  well  as 
beast.  They  infested  the  Saugus  woods  as  late  as  1753  and  were  not 
entirely  extirpated  until  many  years  after.  Bounties  were  offered  for 
their  scalps,  and  the  grisly  trophies  were  sometimes  nailed  on  the 
meeting-houses.  "  For  Beares,"  says  Wood,  "  they  be  common  being  a 
great  blacke  kind  of  Beare,  which  be  most  feirce  in  Strawberry  time." 
They  are  said  to  have  been  seen  in  Maiden  woods  within  this  century, 
and  they  yet  prowl  along  sequestered  roads  in  the  traditions  of  old 
families.-'^ 

hardship  ami  toil,  was  encountered  lives  were  yielded  a  willing  sacri- 

with   cheerfulness    for   the    praise-  fice  to  the  cause  of  freedom.    MSS. 

worthy  object  of  securing;  for  them-  of  Artemas  Barrett, 

selves    and    their    posterity,    civil  .„  (j^^ey,  History  of  Maiden.  25. 
and    religious    liberty  ;    and     their 


40  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

In  1669,  wolves  had  become  so  plentiful  and  destructive  that 
our  neighboring  town  of  Reading  ordered  "  that  a  bounty  of 
twenty  shillings  be  offered  for  e\-ery  wolf  killed  in  Reading 
for  the  ensuing  seven  years; "  and  in  1685,  a  "bount}'  of  15s.  for 
the  killing  of  an  old  bear,  and  los.  for  the  killing  of  a  sucking 
cub."  Charlestown  offered  a  bounty  of  lO  shillings  for  each 
wolf  killed.  In  1687,  Samuel  Sprague,  Jr.,  of  Maiden,  was  paid 
forty  shillings  for  killing  two  grown  wolves.  The  same  year 
the  records  of  Reading  state  that 

the  town  paid  James  Stimpson  1 5^  shillings  for  killing  an  old  bear ; 
paid  John  Eaton  of  ye  plain,  and  some  others,  2  £.  for  killing  three 
young  bears;  paid  John  Upton,  Jr.,  George  Flint,  and  Steven  Fish  for 
killing  one  old  bear  and  two  young  ones,  i  ;^.  &  i  5  shillings;  and  paid 
Richard  Harnden  i  3  shillings  for  killing  one  old  bear. 

In  1631,  when  Go\-.  John  Winthrop  was  at  his  Ten  Hill  farm, 
he  entered  the  following  item  in  his  Journal : 

Oct.  1 1 .  The  governour,  being  at  his  farm  house  at  Mistick  walked 
out  after  supper,  and  took  a  piece  in  his  hand,  supposing  he  might  see 
a  wolf,  (for  they  came  dail}-  about  the  house,  and  killed  swine  and 
calves,  etc.) 

This  pro\"ed  quite  an  acK'cnture.  It  grew  suddenl}-  dark,  he 
mistook  his  path,  and  coming  across  the  empty  little  house  of 
Sagamore  John,  passed  the  night  therein;  "Sometimes  walking 
b}'  the  fire,  sometimes  singing  psalms,  and  sometimes  getting 
wood,  but  could  not  sleep;"  meanwhile  his  serwints  "  ha\ing 
been  much  perplexed  for  him,  and  having  walked  about,  and 
shot  off  pieces,  and  hallooed  in  the  night,  but  he  heard  them 
not." 

Concerning  the  topographical  features  of  our  territory, 
geologists  ha\'e  made  the  statement  that  the  Merrimack 
River  once  flowed  through  this  \alley  to  the  sea;  but 
that  by  some  uphea\al  of  nature  its  course  was  changed 
to  its  present  channel.  Had  that  been  so,  and  such  a  chanoe 
had  not  taken  place,  how  different  would  ha\e  been  the  his- 
tcjry  of  this  regicni.  I^ut  such  is  not  the  case.  In  ])lace  of 
a  wide  flowing  ri\'er  occupying  nearl\'  all  of  the  le\el  lands, 
we  have  the  City  of  Melrose,  most  l)eautfully  situated,  with 
its  charming  and  di\'ersified  scenery,  of  \-alley,  hill  and  wild- 
wood. 


CHAPTER  III. 

ROADS,  STREETS  AND  HIGHWAYS. 

THE  first    roatl,  and    the   only  one   for   many  years   which 
passed   through    Melrose,  was   laid  out   by  order  of  the 
General  Court,  two  hundred   and   fort}'-nine  years  ago, 
at    a    session    held    Sept.    lo,   1653.      Some    of    the    names    of 
persons  and    places   herein   mentioned  will    be  recognized    as 
belonging  to  Melrose: 

Thomas  Marshall,  John  Smyth,  &  John  Sprague.  beinge  chosen  to 
la}'  out  the  country  highway  betweene  Reddinge  &  \\'inneseinett, 
[Chelsea,]  do  lay  it  out  as  follows:  from  Reddinge  towne,  through 
Maldon  bounds,  betwixt]  the  pond  cSc  John  Smyths  land.  [Smith's 
Pond,  in  Wakefield;  Maiden  bounds  extended  thus  far  until  what  is 
now  Greenwood  was  set  off  in  1727  to  Reading,]  &  so  by  the  east 
sicfe  of  M'  Joseph  Hills  land,  to  New  Hockley  Hole,  &  so  in  the  old 
way  by  the  Cow  Pen,  [jDrobably  in  our  present  Highlands,]  &  thence 
along  on  the  east  side  of  Thomas  Co3'tmores  lott,  by  Ele  Pond,  in  the 
old  way,  to  Thomas  Lynds  land,  then  through  the  first  tield,  &  so  by 
the  field  by  his  howse.from  thence,  on  the  old  way.  by  Maldon  meeting 
howse,  through  the  stony  swampe,  from  the  road  there  vpp  betwixt 
Richard  JAddams  &  John  Uphams  lottes,  into  Charlestowne  bounds, 
through  \\'"i  Johnsons  &  Richard  Dexters  land  into  y^  way  by  the 
South  Springe,  &  so  on  the  south  side  of  Tho  W'hitamores  howse  into 
Mr  Bellinghams  land,  [Governor  Bellingham]  into  the  way  that  goeth 
to  the  fferr)-;  the  sd  way  to  be  fower  pole  broade,  in  good  ground.  & 
six  or  eight  where  need  recjuires.' 

A  report  had  been  previously  submitted,  "  V'^  act  of  which 
comissioners  the  Court  appro\-ed  of."  on  June  30,  1653,  by  this 
same  committee  wherein  the>'  recommended  substantially  this 
same  route  beginning  their  report  as  follows. 

Wee,  whose  names  are  vnderwritten,  being  legally  chosen  by  our 
towns,  by  virtue  of  a  Court  order,  to  lay  out  the  countrie  way  betwixt 
Redding  and  Winnesemett,  and  ha\ing  vejwed  the  sajd  wajes,  wee 
aphend  it  most  con\enjent  to  be  as  followes. 

'  Mass.  ColotiY  Rrcoids.  iii.  330. 


42  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

In  this  preliminary  report  our  Pond  is  rightly  spelled  "  Ell," 
instead  of  "  Ele."  Both  documents  show  that  Maiden  had  a 
meeting-house  as  early  as  four  >-ears  after  its  incorporation,  in 
1653.  "  The  old  way,"  so  often  referred  to,  means  the  old, 
crooked,  de\"ious  Indian  or  bridle  path,  or  trail,  in  use  before 
this  date,  winding  hither  and  thither,  going  around  this  hill, 
shunning  that  swamp  or  bog,  and  o\-er  which  the  traveller 
wended  his  way  between  Chelsea  and  Reading.  Some  parts 
of  this  old  original  road  are  being  tra\-ersed  b\'  the  streets  of 
today;  but  a  large  part  is  discontinued,  although  traces  of  it 
in  some  places,  particularh-  in  Melrose,  are  quite  distinct. 

Several  attempts  to  lay  out  this  road  had  been  previously 
made.  The  first  one  was  by  the  town  of  Charlestown,  when 
action  was  taken  to  build  a  road  from  Mystic  Side  up  by 
Wayte's  Mount,  through  the  "  Commons,"  and  beyond  Ell 
Pond;    and   the   following   committee  was  appointed: 

[24.  12.  1644/3.] 

It  is  agreed  y^  The:  Line,  Robt  Hale  &  The:  Pearce  should  lay  out 
A  convenient  Highway  on  Mistickside  from  y^  Woods  to  the  head  of 
the  North  River  &  to  allow  for  ye  Highway  &  to  bound  the  Meadows 
from  ye  Mount  to  Ell  Pond,  &  to  allow  them  ye  Highway  in  bound- 
ing ye  Meadow.- 

But  May  26,  1647,  ^'""^  General  Court  took  action,  and  Lieut. 
Ralph  Sprague  and  Francis  Smith  were  appointed  "to  lay  out 
y^  way  fro'"  W'innetsemet  to  Reading."  This  was  a  part  of  a 
general  plan  by  which  a  continuous  highway  was  opened  to 
the  settlements  in  New  Hampshire,  passing  through  Reading, 
Andover,  and  Haverhill;  and  its  survey  brought  forth  the  first 
of  that  long  series  of  humble  petitions  in  which  are  preserved 
much  of  the  history  of  Mystic  Side  and  Maiden.^ 

In  1648,  fi\e  years  before  the  road  was  finally  established  in 
1653,  it  had  been  laid  out  in  such  a  manner  as  to  meet  with 
opposition  from  the  residents  of  Mystic  Side  and  others,  which 
seems  to  ha\-e  been  successful,  and  Ensign  Thomas  Lynde  and 
Joseph  Hills  were  added  to  act  with  the  committee  in  select- 
ing a  new  route  for  this  road,  as  will  be  seen  b\-  the  following- 
petition: 

16=3=48=  To  the  HoiPd  Court. 

The  humble  peticon  of  seu'el  the  Inhabitants  of  Mestick  side  & 
others  Jn  Charles  Towne.     May  Jt  please  you  to  und''stand.  that  there 

'-'   Charlestoivn   Archives,    xx.,    in  '  Qorey,  History  of  Ma/den,  (^5. 

loco. 


ROADS.   STREETS  AND  HIGHWAYS.  43 

hath  beene  lately  layd  out  A  highway  from  wineseiiiet  to  Redding  by 
Appointment  of  the  gen^ll  court,  whose  orders  in  all  things,  wee  most 
willingly  as  dutie  binds  vs  submit  vnto,  Assuring  ourselves  that  their 
principall  Ayme  is  the  publ.  good :  wd'  vnder  fauour  we  conC  is  not 
consistent  w'^  the  Lying  of  that  way  as  now  it  is  done  =  soe  that  it 
thwarts  neere  twentie  small  Lotts  &  Allso  many  other  Lotts  =  w^h  if  by 
means  thereof,  the  owners  be  forced  to  fence  out  the  way  A  great  part 
of  the  Land  must  be  sould  to  make  the  fence,  the  owners  being  many 
of  them  pore  &  not  able  to  beare  the  charge  thereof,  some  of  them 
hauing  foure  fences  AUreadie  Against  coiiion  &  highway  ground, 
W'herefore  o""  humble  request  is  that  the  said  Act  may  be  recalled  & 
that  the  way  vnto  wenesemet  from  Redding  may  be  in  the  highway 
Leading  toward  the  penie  ferrie,  vnto  the  house  of  James  Barritt  &  so 
by  the  towne  way  leading  directly  vnto  winesemet.  Lying  on  the  head 
of  the  fine  Acre  Lotts.  by  the  South-spring,  w^h  is  Allso  A  playne, 
firme.  trodd  way  &  but  lit'le  about,  the  w^i^  they  now  stand  charged  to 
fence  Against  &  cannot  secure  their  planting  without  it.  So  shall  wee 
be  bound  to  pray  as  wee  desire  dayly  to  doe  for  ye  psptie  &  peace 
temporall  &  Eternall.  J*?  Greexland 

RiCH^  Dexter 
Francis  Wheeler 
George  Ffelt. 

In  th  name  of  the  rest. 

The  mag"-  consider  it  meet  (\vh  Reference  to  the  Concurrence  of  it 
with  the  Deptys)  that  Tho=Line  &  Mr  Jos=Hills  may  be  ioyned  wh 
the  former  Comittee  to  take  a  new  survey  of  the  most  convenient 
place  for  the  way  in  the  petition  mentioned.  l\:  to  make  certifi- 
cate to  the  Court  of  their  ^^P  *  ^  ^  j  9> 
apprehensions  therebout.              yO\ii/l^tyC /Ccrh  *  ^0^\r^ 

The  Dept'.e?  Consent  to  o^  hono''d  magists  in  answer  to  this  pet= 

W'M  Torrev  by  order  ^^  !^.  ■* 

The  committee  thus  enlarg-ed  made  report  to  the  General 
Court.  May  9,  1649: 

Mr  Joseph  Hill,  Leff  Sprauge,  Tho  Lyne,  ^:  Frauncis  Smith,  as  a 
comittee,  bringing  in  their  retourne  of  a  highway  laid  out  by  them 
from  Redding  to  Winisemett,  information  was  given  that  this  was 
lesse  behoofefuU  to  y^  country  then  the  fornV ;  wherevpon  the  Courte, 
considering  y'  it  is  and  willbe  of  great  concernement  to  the  publicke 
that  the  best  high  wayes  be  layd  out  from  toune  to  toune  for  publicke 
vse,  wch  concernes  posterity  aswell  as  ourselves,  and  that  no  private 
interest   should    hinder   it.  have   ordered,  that    M"'  Cleoments.  John 

■*  Mass.  Archives,    cxxi,  21. 


44  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Osgood,  and  Frauncis  Smith,  as  a  comittee,  shall  have  power  to  lay- 
out the  most  convenient  way  for  a  countr}-  roade  between e  Redding 
and  Winnisemett.5 

But  for  some  reason  this  committee  did  not  perform  this 
duty;  the  road  still  remained  undesignated;  and  the  following- 
order  was  passed  Ma}-  31,  1652  : 

Whereas  this  Court  did  long  since  appoint  sundry  psons  to  lay  out 
the  way  from  Reding  to  \Mnesemett,  which  is  not  3-et  determined,  & 
some  of  the  psons  mentioned  in  the  sd  order  are  dead,  and  forasmuch 
as  it  was  ordered  by  Cambridge  Court,  that  it  should  forthwith  be 
done  by  the  townes  of  Redding  &  Maiden,  it  is  now  ordered  by  this 
Court,  that  the  laying  out  of  the  sd  highway  shalbe  clone  by  the  townes 
of  Redding  &  Maiden,  according  to  the  law  in  that  case  provided,  any 
act  of  this  Court  to  the  contrary  notw^'standing/^ 

Then,  as  we  have  seen,  but  not  until  over  a  \'ear  and  three 
months  had  passed,  the  ne\\-  committee  consisting  of  Thomas 
Marshall,  John  Smyth  and  John  Sprague,  laid  out  the  long 
contemplated  road  in  a  manner  apparently-  satisfactor\-  to  all 
concerned. 

The  \'arious  windings  of  this  original  road  through  Melrose 
may  be  traced  as  follows:  Beginning  at  the  boundary  line 
between  Wakefield  and  Melrose,  it  followed  the  present  Main 
Street  a  short  distance,  crossing  it  twice,  and  lea\'ing  it  just 
before  reaching  the  brow  of  Reading  Hill  on  the  easterly 
side;  thence  in  the  rear  of  the  residence  of  the  late  Asa 
Church,  and  of  the  new  houses  recenth'  built  and  parallel 
with  the  present  Main  street  to  Green  street,  a  portion  of  the 
road  being  still  clearly  defined;  thence  through  the  whole 
length  of  Green  Street,  b}-  the  eastern  end  of  Ell  Pond, 
through  Lebanon  Street  as  far  as  Louisburg  Square,  where 
still  stands  the  old  John  Lynde  mansion,  but  now  \\'ithout  its 
once  umbrageous  elm;  then  down  L}-nde  Street  to  near  where 
the  "Dolly  Upham  "  house  now  stands,  when  it  left  that 
street  and  skirted  along  che  east  side  of  Boston  Rock, 
following  somewhat  nearly  the  course  of  the  present  Lin- 
wood  Avenue,  almost  to  Sylvan  Street,  crossing  the  field 
just  before  reaching  the  h'ltter  street;  a  short  section  of  this 
cross-cut  is  still  preser\-ed,  although  the  new  stone-crusher, 
established  in  1897,  ^i^s  nearly  crushed  it  out  of  existence; 
thence    diagonally    across    Wyoming  Cemetery    to    its    south- 

^  Mass.  Colony  Records,  iii,  159.  '■  iMass.  Colony  Records,  iii,  274. 


ROADS,   STREETS  AND  HIGHWAYS.  45 

west  corner;  thence  over  hill  and  dale,  through  the  woods, 
by  the  Forest  Dale  Cemetery,  to  Forest  Street;  entering  that 
street  near  the  old  Jacob  Pratt  house;  thence  it  followed  the 
old  "  Salem  Path  "  to  the  present  Main  Street,  skirting 
Wayte's  Mount,  which  has  been  known  as  "  Mount  Pros- 
pect," and  "Captain's  Hill." 

That  part  of  the  old  road  from  Wyoming  Cemetery  to 
Forest  Street  was  remarkably  well  preserved  and  clearly 
defined,  easily  driven  over,  showing  the  wheel-rut  abrasion 
of  the  old-time  usage  ver\-  distinctly,  until  the  time  when 
the  Lynde  farm  was  bought  by  Hon.  Elisha  S.  Converse, 
and  the  Forest  Dale  Cemetery  established  in  Maiden;  then 
the  new  road  which  was  built  between  the  two  cemeteries 
entirely  obliterated  all  traces  of  the  old  road  of  1653. 

The  original  Ensign  Thomns  Lynde  farm  was  large,  em- 
bracing what  is  now  the  \\'}-oming  Cemetery,  Pine  Banks 
Park,  and  extended  to  and  be\ond  Forest  Street;  and  this 
portion  was  referred  to  in  the  order  la)-ing  out  the  road  in 
1653;  and  in  1695,  ^vhen  the  "  Commons  "  were  divided,  his  son 
Joseph  Lynde,  lived  on  Forest  Street,  and  his  house  and 
land  were  exempted  b>-  the  committee  in  the  division  of 
those  lands,  as  per  report  in  Maiden  records  of  March  26, 
1694,  and  as  given  on  page  17.' 

Parts  of  the  old  road  in  Maiden,  Everett  and  Chelsea  still 
exist;  sections  of  Madison,  Forest  and  ]\L-\in  Streets  in  Maiden, 
Buckman  and  Chelsea  Streets  in  Everett,  and  Washington 
Avenue  in  Chelsea  traverse  portions  of  it. 

In  the  course  of  time,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  peti- 
tion of  Ensign  Thomas  Lynde,  a  part  of  the  road  running 
through  Melrose,  just  described,  was  somewhat  changed: 

To  the  Hoiior'i   County  Court  at  Charts  Tounic. 

20.  4:  71  [April  20,  1 671] 
The  petition  of  Thomas  Lynde  of  Maiden  Humbly  showeth :  That 
whereas  formerly  a  certaine  Highway  for  the  Countrj's  use  was  laid 
out  through  a  helde  of  mine  commonly  called  my  further  field  which  if 
so  continued  and  made  use  of  will  be  very  prejudicial  to  my  self  and 
posf'y  by  reason  I  have  so  litle  land  Improveable  to  corne. 

And  inasmuch  as  there  may  be  a  way  w'ht  [without]  my  said  fielde 

"  This  house  was  built  by  Deacon  preseut  Pratt  house  built  near  the 
Thomas  Lynde  for  his  son  Joseph.  entrance  to  Forest  Dale  Cemetery. 
It  was  demolished  in   1S28,  and  the       Corey,  History  of  Maiden,  368. 


46  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

in  1115-  other  land  but  a  few  poles  difference  and  which  for  several  3'ears 
haue  been  made  use  of  both  b}'  the  Town  and  Countrj-  M}'  Humble 
request  to  this  Honor^  Court  is  that  the  said  wa}^  may  be  altered :  to 
which  end  if  this  Court  please  the  Towns  mostly  concerned  may  be 
ordered  to  choose  such  persons  amongst  themselves  as  they  judge 
meet  to  reveiw  the  said  way  &  having  respect  to  the  Countrys  conven- 
iency  and  saffty  with  }'Our  petitioners  and  Towns  concerne  therein  and 
to  make  return  to  this  Court  that  they  may  determine  therein  as  in 
there  wisdoms  they  shall  judge  meet. 

And  your  petitioner  shall  be  bound  to  pray  &c. 

Thomas  Lvnde. 

^^af^cu^    -^    ^    ^*>.r*/c^  "t^    <^*-f  C^^S  >z^4- 
r<rt^^  C/U^     ^^   *^^a*«reX    4^   <g/^''  rrx^y  ^OL^ 

u/«^  <*Afp-  "99*^ ^^  y**^  ""  ***/  *^ii^  ■^^'^f*^  ^<^  «*- 
iL  c^t^j^  ^Aff^i  ^^j^  iy^y-^  «f^ 

FACSIMILE  OF  THK  ORIGINAL  PETITION    FOR  CHANGE    OF    ROAD,  DATED 

APRIL  20,  1671. 


ROADS.   STREETS  AND  HIGHWAYS.  47 

That  this  petition  was  successful,  and  the  road  changed  is 
made  evident  by  the  fact  that  the  Court  appointed  "John 
Greene,  Josiah  Convers  and  Joatham  Poole"  to  view  the 
premises  "against  Thomas  L>'nds  Land  in  Maulden"  and  that 
they  "settled  the  same  to  pass  under  the  Rock  where  it  now 
lyeth"and  that  the  Court  accepted  and  approved;  and  from 
that  time,  instead  of  continuing  on  the  east  side  of.  Boston 
Rock,  as  formerly,  it  left  the  present  Lebanon  Street,  at  the 
junction  of  Grove,  passing  through  L\-nde  Street,  by  the  "  Dolly 
Upham  "  house  to  the  foot  of  Summer  Street;  (  Lynde  Street, 
as  now  known,  was  not  extended  through  to  Main  Street  until 
1857;)  thence  through  Summer  Street  to  Main  to  where 
Masonic  Hall  now  stands;  leaving  Main  Street  soon  after,  it 
crossed  the  present  Mount  Vernon  Street  east  of  the  "great 
rock"  referred  to  later,  and  the  houses  of  Edwin  S.  Small 
and  others,  continuing  on  between  the  present  homesteads  of 
Henry  and  the  late  D.  Alvin  Lynde,  and  on  close  beside  the 
foot  of  Boston  Rock,  a  portion  of  which  road  still  exists, 
but  unused,  across  the  meadow  in  front  of  the  Ensign  Thomas 
Lynde  house,  then  retentl>'  built,  and  on  through  the  Pine 
Banks  Park  to  the  old  road  again  to  Poorest  Street,  as  ori«>-- 
inally  laid  out. 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  obtain  exact  information  as  to 
some  of  the  earl\-  roads.  Many  changes  were  made  as  time 
went  on,  and  where  first  a  road  was  travelled,  after  abandon- 
ment, and  a  new  one  utilized,  the  old  became  obliterated  from 
disuse. 

On  a  plan  of  Maiden,  surve3-ed  by  Peter  Tufts.  Jr.,  of  Mi'd- 
ford,  in  1795,  b\'  authority-  of  a  resoKe  j)asse(l  by  the  General 
Court  in  1794,  thf  only  roads  hu\l  down  in  what  was  then 
North  Maiden,  are,  the  main  road  as  last  described,  called  the 
"Reading  Road,"  now  ALiin  Street,  and  the"Stoneham  Road," 
which  left  this  near  where  our  Masonic  Hall  stands,  and  fol- 
lowed what  is  now  our  VVj'oming  A\enue,  Hurd.  Cottage, 
P^oster  and  \'inton  Streets,  to  the  old  count\-  road  leatling  to 
Stoneham.  now  Franklin  Street.  This  "Stoneham  Road"  had 
been  laid  out  fi\e  yt'ars  before,  in  1790.  At  the  same  time 
there  existed,  but  not  shown  on  this  map,  the  road  running 
towards  the  Chelsea  line— Chelsea  then  bounded  Maklen  on 
the  east,— which  isr<j\\  out  of  the  followiiiL;-  action: 


48  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

At  a  meeting  held  July  20,  1713,  "It  was  putt  to  vote  whethar  ye 
Town  will  mend  ye  way  y'  Runs  from  ye  country  Road  neere  Sam" 
Grouars  To  John  \\'ilkinsons  between  ye  Raig  of  lots.  And  jt  past 
on  ye  negitiue."  In  consequence  of  this  vote,  John  Upham,  Jonathan 
Barrett,  and  other  inhabitants  of  the  northern  portion  of  the  town 
petitioned  the  Court  for  convenient  highways  from  their  houses  to  the 
meeting  house ;  and  the  Court  ordered  the  selectmen  "  to  look  to  such 
matters."* 

Sept.  2g,  foilow'ing,  it  is  recorded: 

3-t  ye  select  men  doe  lay  out  a  conuenant  high  way  for  Them  .  .  . 
2  pols  broad  on  ye  northwardly  side  of  That  Raing  of  lots  y^^  Runs 
from  John  Wilkinsons  Land  neer  his  hous  down  to  ye  cuntrey  Road 
y*^  leads  to  Reding. — beginning  at  ye  s'^  wilkinsons  land. 

"This  was  a  confirmation  to  public  uses  of  one  of  the  rights 
of  wa)'  which  were  laid  out  between  the  ranges  of  common 
land  in  1695."  Thus  early  was  the  higher  land  between  our 
present  Upham  Street,  long  know  as  Upham  Lane,  and  Long- 
Pond,  occupied  by  Wilkinson;  and  at  that  time  or  a  little  later, 
came  others;  among  them  Herring  and  Breeden.  E\-identh' 
the  road  as  laid  out  above  to  Chelsea  (Saugus)  line,  was  not, 
for  many  years,  utilized  only  up  as  far  as  the  Upham  houses; 
for  the  following  vote  was  passed  many  years  later,  laying 
out  a  new  route  for  that  end  of  the  road: 

At  a  Leagal  Town  Meeting  in  Maiden  Nov"i  29,  1 796,  the  Town 
did  accept  of  the  Report  of  their  Committe  chosen  to  Consider  of  the 
Expedience  of  laying  out  a  Road  from  Maiden  to  Chelsea  line  which 
was  that  the  Select  Men  Lay  out  a  Road  so  as  to  accommodate  M^ 
Jesse  Upham  &  M''  John  Edmunds  in  the  Best  Manner  they  can  & 
Aprise  the  Damages. 

True  Copy  of  the  Record. 

Attest :    Ebenr  Harnden,  Town  Cler 

Maiden  April  21*1  1801. 

This  road  left  Upham  Street  turning  to  the  south  just 
beyond  the  present  Parker  Farm  Houses,  and  ran  up  over 
the  hill  by  the  houses  then  existing,  but  which  have  now- 
disappeared,  and  on  down  the  hill  again,  over  a  still  existing 
earth-bridge,  through  the  woods  to  the  lex'el,  striking  the 
Upham  Street,  as  since  continued  down  bv  Mr.  Uohert\-'s  and 
the  romantic  ledges,  and  boulders.  —  our  Palisades. 

The  Breeden  house  stood  not  far  from  where  the  road   turns 

*  Corey,  History  0/  iMaldoi,  442. 


ROADS,   STREETS  AND  HIGHWAYS.  49 

to  go  to  the  Hood  and  Wyoming  Kennels  farms.  It  was  built 
about  1730.  In  1783,  John  Edmunds,  the  Revolutionary  patriot, 
and  grandfather  of  the  late  John  Ouincy  Adams  Avery,  bought 
it,  together  with  twenty  acres  of  land,  bounding  east  on  Long 
Pond,  on  the  outlet  of  which  then  existed  a  saw-mill.  Mr. 
Edmunds  died  in  1846,  aged  eighty-nine  years;  and  his  grave 
is  in  the  southern  part  of  Wyoming  Cemetery.  Soon  after  his 
death  the  old  house  was  burned,  and  nothing  remains  but  the 
old  cellar-hole,  covered  by  a  temporary  shed.^ 

The  exact  location  of  the  Wilkinson  house  is  not  known. 

Soon  after  the  Upham  road  was  first  laid  out,  action  was 
taken  by  the  town  concerning  another  one,  as  follows: 

The  select  men  of  maiden  mett  ye  17.  of  feb  172"^  And  doe  alow 
of  ye  Two  pools  jn  bredth  y'  lieth  Att  y^  south  end  of  the  first  Raing 
of  ye  second  Thousand  acrs  —  from  boston  line  to  Reding  Road  To  be 
a  Town  high-way : 

The  selectmen  on  the  15'^  day  of  noV.  1754  opened  A  town  road 
from  m""  James  Barrets  orchard  to  Chelsea  line  between  the  first  and 
second  range  of  lots  in  the  second  division. 

Although  the  latter  entries  are  nearly  thirty-three  years  apart  in  time, 
they  refer  to  a  single  way  in  North  Maiden  which  had  existed  as  one 
of  the  rights  of  way  between  the  ranges,  and  now  became  a  settled 
road.  It  was  formerly  Barrett's  Lane,  and  is  now  Porter  Street, 
Melrose. 1^ 

From  Upham 's  Lane,  there  ran  another  road  not  shown  on 
this  map,  which  wound  up  to  the  end  of  the  present  Spear 
Street,  thence  down  througli  the  woods,  through  Mountain 
Avenue,  to  the  present  Lebanon  Street;  thence  northerly  to 
the  old  Howard  homestead,  afterwards  the  Pratt  place,  now 
the  Poor  Farm,  and  then  westerly  on  to  the  Wyoming  Ceme- 
tery, joining  the  old  1653  road  which  went  up  over  the  hill 
between  Wyoming  and  Forest  Dale  Cemeteries,  through  the 
present  "Hillside  Terrace"  of  the  Pine  Banks  Park  —  east 
of  the  "Intervale" — to  Poorest  Street.  This  was  the  way  the 
Howardsand  Prattsof  that  section  travelled  to  Maiden  Centre; 
and  the  road  from  Lebanon  Street  to  the  cemetery,  through 
the  farm,  is  ver\'  clearly  defined  at  the  jjresent  da\-. 

■'  John  Edinoiuls,   Maiden.     Cor-  1780.     Massac/iusctis   Sohiicrs   and 

poral,     Lieutenant-Coloners     Co.,  Sailors  of  the   Revolutionary  War. 

Col.  Michael  Jackson's  regt.  ;   Con-  Vol.  v.,  p.  220. 

tiueutal    Army    pay    acconnts    for  '^"  Corey ,  History  0/ Mahlen,  .\.^. 
service  from  Jan.  i,  1780  to  Feb.  r, 


Eel  Vo„J  f-.J  .1^ 


THE 
JiAA"  •/  jV1aLI>£\ 

Surxcy'd  jD  //^y  By 

T'tc'r      Tufh       yua 


ROADS,   STREETS  AND  HIGHWAYS.  51 

The  various  ponds  are  iiulicated  on  this  map,  incliuh'nij  the 
no  longer  existing  Dix,  in  the  rear  of  the  City  Hall.  A  few 
of  the  houses  then  standing  are  rudely  drawn  thereon:  On  the 
old  road,  James  Green,  at  the  extreme  north;  Vining's  next; 
then  the  William  Emerson  tavern,  which  "stood  near  the  old 
well  with  a  narrow  cartway  between  the  house  and  well;"ii 
William  Upham,  on  the  present  Lynde  Street,  opposite  the 
"Dolly  Upham"  house;  Benjamin  L)'nde,  where  now  stands 
Henry  Lynde's  homestead,  and  the  old  Ensign  Thomas  Lynde 
House  at  the  Fells,  without  a  name.  On  the  "Stoneham 
Road  "  appears  the  Phineas  Sprague  house  which  stood  where 
now  stands  the  residence  of  the  late  Mrs.  Liberty  Bigelow; 
then  Captain  Unite  Cox,  the  old  "  Mountain  House;"  and  last 
that  of  John  Larrabee.  This  rude  survey  is  the  earliest  repre- 
sentation of  the  topography  of  the  town  of  which  there  is  any 
knowledge.  The  present  course  of  Main  Street  is  indicated  by 
the  dotted  lines.  The  dotted  section  on  the  northwest  corner 
shows  the  portion  set  off  from  Stoneham  in  1853,  and  added  to 
the  territory  of  Melrose. 

Some  roads  were  laid  out  at  the  time  of  the  division  of  "The 
Commons,"  mostly  in  the"Scadan  Fells,"  as  will  be  seen  by 
the  following:  A  committee  consisting  of  Lieutenant  Joseph 
Wilson,  Isaac  Hill,  Lemuel  Jenkins  and  Nathaniel  Upiiam. 
chosen  April  9,  1695,  niade  this  report  May  8,  following: 

Wee  subscribers  have  done  according  to  the  town  vote  at  our  under- 
standing in  staking  of  highwayes  in  the  sheep  paster  and  the  three 
hundred  accres  namly  two  poles  wide  with  .stakes  blazed  one  the  in- 
side and  pillers  of  stones  at  the  bottom  of  them 

I.  as  one  the  neck  side  from  the  Spragues  Land,  up  through  the  neck 
unto  John  Greenlands  lote  in  Charlestown  bounds  [Washington  Street. 
going  north  from  the  R.  R.  bridge  in  Maiden.] 

2ly.  A  Roade  from  Joseph  Linds  house  [near  "  Reed}-  Pond  "  on 
Forest  Street,  heretofore  described]  through  the  sheep  paster  to 
dexters  Rockes  [the  great  ledges  in  the  woods  between  the  westerly 
side  of  Swain's  Pond  and  Lebanon  Street,]  then  through  the  lots  to 
the  second  diuision  and  from  tiie  foote  of  De.xters  Rokes  nortiieste  up 
Squiers  hill  through  to  tiie  seckend  diuision. 

3ly.  A  Roade  from  Joseph  Hoyds  through  the  sheepe  paster  antl 
three  hundred  accres  to  Swaines  ponde  into  the  seckend  diuision. 
[heretofore  referred  to  as  coming  from  I'pham  Lane  through  Spear 
Street,  and  through  the  woods  to  I^ebanon  Street.] 

^^  MSS.  letter  from  his  son,  Rev.  Warren  Iviiiersoii. 


52  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

4ly.  A  Roade  from  Ezekell  Jankens  a  longe  in  the  sheep  paster  [the 
territory'  east  of  Wayte's  Mt.  through  which  Forest  Street  runs,]  and 
crossing  the  Roade  that  comes  up  from  Joseph  floydes.  and  pasing  on 
towards  the  O  [Round  \\'orld ;  the  territory  west  of  Lebanon  Street,  in 
Maplewood,  south  of  the  Maiden  Poor  Farm,]  then  winding  to  the 
left  through  lots  into  the  seckend  diuision. 

5ly.  A  Roade  from  Leftent  Spragues  land  up  through  to  the  Road 
that  comes  from  Joseph  floyds  : 

61y.  A  Roade  from  haywards  land  branching  out  to  dexters  Rockes 
likewise  branching  up  to  Swaines  pond  brooke  [the  present  Lebanon 
Street,]  and  through  the  lots  to  the  Roade  that  comes  from  Joseph 
floyds :  Joseph  Willson  Samuell  Jankens. 

NATHANELL  UPHAM.  ISACC  HiLL. 

These  roads,  with  the  exception  of  the  first,  traversed  the 
Scadan  woods,  but  it  is  not  easy  to  indicate,  only  in  part,  just 
where.  One  ran  easterly  from  Swain's  Pond  Road,  near  Leba- 
non Street,  over  into  the  Salem  Road.  Two  of  the  old  ways, 
running  from  the  easterly  end  of  Swain's  Pond,  are  still  used 
to  some  extent;  they  lead  towards  the  old  road  which  for- 
merly ran  from  the  Salem  Road  to  the  iron  works  at  Hammer- 
smith on  the  Abousett,  or  Saugus  River.  The  roads  which 
have  been  described  were  the  only  ones  laid  out  for  many 
years;  no  new  ways  were  granted  until  after  the  Revolution. 
In  the  earlier  days,  the  scattered  and  isolated  farm  houses  of 
the  old-time  residents  west  of  the  "  Reading  Road,"  noted  on 
the  1795  map,  were  reached  b}^  various  private  paths  and  cart- 
ways, mostly  unnamed.  The  original  manner  of  reaching 
IVIalden  Centre,  from  some  of  these  western  homes  was  a  path- 
way which  followed  about  on  a  line  with  our  present  Cleveland 
Street,  crossing  Spot  Pond  Brook,  passing  Capt.  John  Lynde's 
house  to  what  is  now  Washington  Street,  thence  down  by  the 
cliffs  and  cascade  to  Maiden;  and  the  "  Stoneham  Road,"  pre- 
vious to  the  time  it  was  laid  out  in  1790,  had  been  nothing  more 
than  pri\ate  ways  or  paths,  from  house  to  house,  on  the  west 
side  of  our  present  Main  Street,  beginning  at  the  house  of 
Jonathan  Howard,  Jr.,  which  stood  where  Masonic  Hall  now 
stands,  and  before  which  grew  a  majestic  buttonwood  tree, 
well  remembered  by  some  now  li\ing. 

One  of  these  ways,  which  marks  the  origin  of  that  part  of 
our  Main  Street  from  above  Island  Hill,  up  along  by  the  side 
of  Pine  Banks  Park  and  Hog  Island,  was  the  subject  of  the 
following  Town  \-ote  March  i,  171^: 


ROADS.   STREETS  AND  HIGHWAYS.  53 

That  Jose  Line  has  libart)'  Granted  to  him  and  his  haires  To  Raise 
the  causewaj'  y'  Lyeth  betweene  >-«  medo  foniiarly  cap'  waits :  und  y« 
sd  Lines  medo  so  high  as  to  flow  y^  s^  lines  meddo :  and  y^  s^  Lines 
doe  obUge  him  self  and  his  haires  To  maintain  y^  s^  causway  in  good 
Repair  suficant  for  both  Town  and  countrey  to  pass :  —  so  long  as  they 
se  cause  to  flow  y^  s"?  medo  Also  y«  said  line  has  libarty  to  take  earth 
and  grauill  on  y^  high  way  on  y^  Top  of  y«  hill  near  y^  s<i  caseway  for 
ye  ends  aboue  s^ 

This  way  accommodated  some  of  the  north  end  citizens  with 
a  "shorter  cut"  to  the  centre  of  the  town. 

These  ways,  or  paths,  were  in  such  a  condition  in  the  year 
1757,  as  to  cause  a  petition  to  be  drawn  up  "To  the  Gentlemen 
of  the  Selectmen  of  the  town  of  Maiden,"  asking  them  to  lay 
out  a  highway  from 

near  the  house  of  M^  Jonathan  Howard  Jun^  [at  Masonic  Hall]  over 
his  land  westerly  where  the  path  now  is  that  we  usually  pass  on  to  the 
Land  of  phinehas  Sprague  and  so  over  his  land  where  the  path  now  is 
near  by  his  house  [then  on  the  site  of  the  late  Mrs.  Liberty  Bigelow's 
house,]  to  the  land  of  M""  Samuel  Sprague  also  over  his  land  where  we 
usually  pass  by  his  house  [where  L.  Frank  Hinckley  now  lives]  and 
where  Tho^  pratt  ye  3d  Dwells  to  our  Land  at  the  Gate  near  our  house. 

Among  the  reasons  given  were: 

That  Said  way  hath  almost  always  been  a  Very  wet  muddy  plungj^ 
and  uncomfortable  place  for  passing.  Secondly  our  predecessors  &  we 
have  been  at  a  Very  considerable  expence  in  makeing  and  Repairing 
a  Considerable  Large  bridge  o\-er  Ell  pond  Brook,  said  bridge  hath 
usually  been  a  Dangerous  place  to  pass  over  By  Reason  of  its  being 
Generally  out  of  Repair.  .  .  .  Thirdly  another  Difficulty  we  Labor 
under  is  a  Number  of  uncomfortable  Gates  we  are  obliged  to  pass 
through  the  Chief  of  the  year  which  when  our  wi\-es  ride  through 
although  with  Children  in  their  amies  are  obliged  to  Git  Down  to  open 
said  Gates  or  Else  they  are  in  Danger  of  their  Limbs  and  Lives  too. 

Other  reasons  are  given,  but  the  conclusion  of  the  petition 
is  as  follows: 

Be  So  Good  as  not  to  Impose  taxes  on  us  or  dont  be  uneasy  if  we 
wont  pay  any  Rates  or  if  we  must  pay  Rates  and  not  have  a  Rhode  to 
Go  to  meeting  to  mill  ^:  to  market  on  be  So  Good  as  to  be  willing  that 
we  should  be  Set  oft"  to  another  town  that  will  tind  us  ways. 

Nevertheless,  notwithstanding  that  these  "Estates  have  been 
at  so  much  of  the  cost  of  ways  in  the  town  both  in  purchasing 
and  Repairing  them   for  other  peojjie  of  tiie  town  to  pass  on 


54  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

for  above  70  years,"  it  would  seem  that  this  road  so  earnestly 
prayed  for  was  not  built  until  a  period  of  over  thirty  years  had 
gone  by,  in  1790.^'-^ 

A  little  later,  a  cart  road  over  the  present  Lynde  Street,  was 
in  use  from  the  foot  of  Summer  Street  to  the  present  Main 
Street,  before  the  formal  laying  out  and  building  of  the  same 
after  the  town  was  incorporated;  and  such  was  the  case  with 
other  streets;  Emerson  Street,  at  the  time  William  Emerson 
built  his  house  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Emerson  Streets, 
was  nothing  more  than  a  lane,  with  bars  by  his  house,  through 
which  he  drove  his  cows  to  pasture,  which  was  situated  west  of 
our  present  central  railroad  station. 

Howard  Street,  was  laid  out  in  1788,  and  built  through  to 
Saugus,  thus  making  a  continuous  County  road  from  Stone- 
ham  centre  to  Lynn. 

Main  Street,  as  it  now  exists,  was  laid  out  in  1806;  w^hen 
finally,  the  very  crooked  old  road  of  1653,  and  the  successive 
changes  that  had  taken  place  therein  during  the  intervening 
years,  was  made  a  straight  street,  excepting  a  moderate  bend 
at  "Island  Hill,"  from  Maiden  centre  to  Greenwood,  in  Wake- 
field. After  this,  and  until  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad 
was  built  and  opened  in  1845,  very  little  was  done  in  the  way 
of  making  new  streets  ;  but  soon  after  the  town  was  incorpo- 
rated, in  1850,  many  new  streets  were  laid  out  and  built; 
among  them  Porter,  Emerson,  west  from  Main,  Youle,  Vinton,^ 
Myrtle,  Walnut  and  Essex  Streets;  in  1852,  a  highway  was 
built  "  from  John  Lynde's  to  Charles  Pratt's  Gate,"  now  Leba- 
non Street;  John  Lynde's  was  the  mansion  on  the  corner  of 
Grove  and  Lebanon  Streets,  and  Charles  Pratt's  was  our  present 
Poor  P'arm;  the  gate  being  situated  at  the  top  of  the  hill,  at 
the  corner  of  Forest  Street ;  not  long  after  this  road  was  con- 
tinued "from  Charles  Pratt's  Gate  to  Maiden  Line;"  then  by  or 
before  i860,  there  followed  other  streets;  among  them  Lynde, 

^-  vSome    years    previous  to  this,  private    way   from   Jonatliau   How- 

iu    1751,    six    residents    of    North  ard's    house    to    that    of    Phineas 

Maldeu — Phiueas     Sprague,     Na-  Sprague.     When    finally     built    it 

thaniel  Howard,  Samuel  vSprague,  became  what  is   now   the   easterly 

Thomas     Vinton,    Benoni    Vinton  endof  Wyoming  Avenue,  beginning 

and    Phineas    Sprague,    Jr.  —  were  at    Main    Street,    thence    through 

allowed  to  work  out,  according  to  Hurd  and  Cottage  vStreets  to  F'oster 

custom  thtn  in  vogue,  their  high-  Street, 
way   rates  for  three  years,  on  the 


ROADS.   STREETS  AND  HIGHWAYS.  55 

Essex.  Green.  Grove.  Foster.  Cottage,  \V\-oniin!4-  Avenue,  IlurtI, 
Trenton,  Melrose,  Tremont,  Sylvan,  first  called  Cemetery  Street, 
Vine,  Ashland,  Linwood  Avenue,  first  called  Chelsea  Street, 
East  Wyoming  A\enue,  Poplar,  Willow.  Laurel,  now  Cedar, 
Winthrop,  Mt.  Vernon,  Linden.  Otis,  Lake  Avenue,  Summer, 
Upham  from  Main  to  Lebanon,  first  called  Church  Street.  Cedar 
Park  and  others. 

As  the  town  increased  in  population,  new  dwellings  were 
erected,  and  new  streets  built,  year  by  year,  until  the  present 
time,  when  we  ha\e  two  hundred  and  eighty-sexen  streets, 
avenues,  courts  and  places,  and  fifty-three  and  nine-tenths 
miles  of  streets  and  ways,  fort\--two  and  a  c[uarter  miles  of 
which  are  public,  or  accepted  streets;  the  balance  are  open  to 
public  use,  but  not  accepted.  Of  these  eleven  and  a  half 
miles  are  county  roads,  and  are  included  in  the  fort\--two  and 
a  quarter  miles  of  accepted  streets. 

In  the  earh'  days  it  was  a  common  thing  to  place  gates 
across  the  roads;  and  the  Maiden  records  are  full  of  votes 
that  were  passed  concerning  their  construction  and  mainte- 
nance in  the  various  parts  of  the  town.  "While  travelling  was 
entirel\'  on  foot,  or  on  horseback,  the  incon\enience  of  gates 
was  not  great;  but  the  gradual  introduction  of  chaises  and 
other  \-ehicles  rendered  unobstructed  roads  desirable."  '•' 

Sidewalks.  Melrose,  if  not  the  first,  was  one  of  the  first 
towns  to  lay  concrete  sidewalks,  under  the  provisions  of  an  act 
of  the  Legislature,  allowing  appropriations  especially  for  that 
object  to  be  made,  sidewalks  built,  and  one-half  the  cost  assessed 
upon  the  abutters.  The  first  action,  introduced  on  motion  of 
Allen  C.  Goss,  was  taken  at  the  Annual  Meeting  in  March, 
1878,  when  Si 000  was  appro])riated  for  that  jjurpose.  Accord- 
ingly, Siooo  was  sj)ent  l)y  the  town,  and  as  much  mori.'  l)y  the 
citizens  in  front  of  whosi-  residences  sidewalks  were  l)uilt; 
making  S2000  worth  of  concrete-  walks,  which  were  laid  the 
first  year;  and  tlu-  .Selectmen  said  in  their  report: 

We  feel  that  this  money  has  been  judiciously  e.xpended,  and  that  the 
construction  of  these  walks  has  proved  of  great  advantage  not  only  as  a 
convenience  to  our  own  citizens,  but  as  an  additional  proof  to  strangers 
visiting  our  town,  with  the  view  to  coming  among  us,  that  we  are  alive 
to  the  wants  of  the  community. 

From   that   day  to   this,  year  b\'   \ear,  an    ap|)ro[)riation    lias 
^'■^  Corey,  History  of  Maiden.  462. 


56  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

been  made,  expressly  for  the  purpose  of  extending  new  walks; 
$1000  each  year  until  1887 — except  1885,  S900 — S2000  each 
year  from  1887  to  1894,  with  $500  additional  for  repairs;  and 
for  the  last  seven  years  the  amounts  have  been:  1896,  S3000; 
1897,  i^3500;  and  1898,^3500;  1899-1902,^2500  each;  and  the 
vote  has  been  broadened  so  as  to  include  either  concrete  or 
brick  sidewalks;  the  amount  to  cover  necessar}'  repairs  to  old 
walks,  and  with  the  additional  requisite  that  the  applicant 
desiring  a  sidewalk  be  required  to  deposit  one-half  the  esti- 
mated cost  of  same  before  building.  In  this  manner,  our  town 
has  now  many  miles  of  continuous  sidewalks,  which  neces- 
sarily, is  a  source  of  great  comfort  and  convenience,  not  only 
to  our  citizens,  but  quickly  attracts  the  attention  of  anyone 
visiting  our  municipality  with  the  view  of  becoming  a  resident. 
One  thing  is  yet  needed:  an  enforced  ordinance  making  it 
obligatory  upon  each  and  every  freeholder  to  clear  off  his 
sidewalk  after  snowstorms.  That  additional  luxury  will  pro- 
bably be  experienced  in  the  near  future  now  that  "  fair  Mel- 
rose "  has  become  a  city! 

Particularly  connected  with  this  subject  of  roads  is  the 
following  unique  description  of  travel  from  Maiden  to  Boston, 
written  before  the  incorporation  of  Melrose,  and  about  the 
time  the  railroad  was  opened  for  regular  travel,  by  John 
Hay  ward,  in  his  New  Eiigland  Gazetteer. 

Until  the  erection  of  Charles  River  and  Maiden  bridges  in  17S6  and 
1787,  this  town  was  as  far  "  down  east  "  in  regard  to  its  connection  with 
Boston  by  roads  and  bridges  as  any  town  in  the  County  of  York,  in 
the  State  of  Maine,  now  is.  In  those  days,  a  Maiden  lady  wishing  to 
visit  Boston  by  land,  had  to  rise  early  and  travel  by  wagon,  side-saddle 
or  pillion,  through  Medford,  Charlestown,  Cambridge,  Little  Cam- 
bridge (now  Brighton),  Brookline,  Roxbury,  and  over  the  Neck  to  the 
great  metropolis,  and  when  she  arrived  w-as  so  fatigued  by  her  day's 
journey  that  she  had  to  rest  a  day  or  two  before  she  was  able  to  make 
her  calls.  But  now,  how  changed !  Those  cruel,  turnpike  killers  and 
despisers  of  horseflesh,  the  legislators  of  Massachusetts,  have  granted 
permission  to  a  number  of  men  to  set  up  a  long,  narrow  building  on 
trundles,  a  sort  of  travelling  meeting-house,  with  a  bell  to  it,  and  a  row 
of  pews  on  each  side  of  the  aisle,  drawn  by  a  savage-looking  beast  that 
keeps  pufifing  and  whistling  like  a  northeaster,  and  when  started,  seems 
as  if  Satan  himself  couldn't  catch  him.  By  this  mode  of  travelling,  a 
lady  or  gentleman  at  Maiden  may  leave  home  at  almost  anj'  hour,  go 
clown  south  to  Boston,  a  distance  of  live  miles,  see  their  friends,  do 
their  errands,  and  return  in  one  short  sunnj-  hour.     There  are  now  two 


ROADS,   STREETS  AND  HIGHWAYS.  57 

delightful  and  flourishing  \illages  in  the  town  through  both  of  which 
the  railroad  passes.  The  number  of  inhabitants  in  1S45,  in  the  whole 
of  Maiden,  was  computed  at  2700. 

This  picture  of  tra\'el  in  those  early  days,  partakes  in  part 
of  the  nature  of  romance;  inasmuch  as,  previous  to  the  time  of 
building  the  Maiden  and  Charles  Ri\-er  bridges,  the  "Penny 
Ferry,"  crossing  the  Mystic  River  from  Mystic  Side  to 
Charlestown  had  been  established  as  early  as  1640;  and  the 
ferry  across  the  Charles  River  from  Charlestown  to  Boston 
had  existed  since  the  year  1635.  Thus  a  direct  way  for  man 
and  beast  was  made,  by  which  a  passage  to  and  fro  between 
Maiden  and  Boston,  could  be  made  in  a  much  shorter  time 
than  that  described  b\'  Mr.  Havward. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 

AS  HAS  been  heretofore  stated,  the  territory  now  Melrose, 
has  been  occupied  by  certain  original  families  and  their 
descendants  for  many  generations.  The  genealogy  of 
some  of  them  has  been  published;  that  of  the  Uphams  by 
Henry  B.  Upham,  and  the  Greens  and  Vintons  by  Rev^  John 
Adams  Vinton,  in  "  Genealogical  Sketches  of  the  Descendants  of 
John  Vinton  of  Ly?i)i,  1648;  and  several  Allied  Fainiliesr 

Much  genealogical  information  concerning  the  Barrett  and 
L^'nde  families,  although  in  a  disconnected  state,  was  left  in  . 
MSS.  by  the  late  Artemas  Barrett;  and  much  matter  concern- 
ing the  Sprague  and  Lynde  families,  has  been  collected  by 
Wilton  F.  Bucknam,  a  descendant  of  both  families,  in  his 
Biicknani  Genealogy,  now  ready  for  the  press. 

But  a  genealogy  of  these  families  does  not  come  within  the 
province  of  this  history;  but  certain  facts  have  been  gathered 
from  various  sources,  and  some  interesting  matter  rescued  from 
oblivion,  concerning  some  of  these  original  families  and  home- 
steads.^ 

The  Lyndes.  Among  the  early  settlers  in  Charlestown  was 
Thomas  Lynde,  who  came  from  England,  where  he  was  born 
in  January,  i5g-;4.  He  became  a  freeman  in  1634.  He  bought 
a  tract  of  land  which  included  the  site  of  the  present  State 
Prison,  and  which  was  known  until  after  the  time  of  the  Revo- 
lution as  Lynde's  Point.  He  was  one  of  the  Deputies  to  the 
General  Court  for  several  years,  serving  first  in  1636.  He  was 
one  of  the  Selectmen  of  Charlestown  for  man\'  years,  and  dea- 
con of  the  Charlestown  Church.  He  became  a  large  land 
owner,  and  has  been  st^ded  in  different  documents,  "master," 
"malster,"  "gentlemen,"  and  "yeoman." 

^  This   inforniatioti    comes    in    a  with     citizens     and      descendants 

variety  of  ways ;   from  the  Barrett  which   took   place   at   the  time   of 

and    Bucknam    MSS.,  old    records,  the   historical   address,  "TheCt-n- 

printed     matter,    newspaper    clip-  tennial     Fourth,"    in     1876;    and, 

pings,     and      personal     interviews  also,  those  of  a  more  recent  date. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  ■  59 

In  the  CJiarlestown  Book  of  Possessions,  iox  1638,  issued  in  1878, 
as  the  Third  Report  of  the  [Boston]  Record  Co}/ii/iissioners,  which 
has  been  called  the  Domesday  Book  of  Mystic  Side,'-  Thomas 
Lynde  is  credited  with  thirteen  items  or  parcels  of  real  estate, 
besides  his  homestead  "on  the  southeast  side  of  mill  hill."  In 
the  various  allotments  of  out-lyinsr  lauds  which  had  been  pre- 
viously made,  he  had  received  a  uumber  of  tracts  belonging  to 
Mystic  Side.  One  of  them,  evidently  received  in  the  division 
of  ha\--lots,  was  described  as  follows: 

Three  Acres  of  meaddow  by  estimation,  more  or  lesse.  lying  on  the 
north  side  of  mount  prospect,  [\^'a3'te's  Mount,  now  crowned  with 
Maiden's  water  reservoir,]  butting  southeast  upon  Edward  Convers, 
and  to  the  northwest  upon  the  riverett,  bounded  b.\'  the  comon  on  the 
southeast  and  northeast. 

He  also  received  by  allotment,  "  Eightie  Acres  of  land  lying 
in  Rockefeilde."  Concerning  this  tract,  the  following  record 
occurs  in  Charlestoivn  Arc/iives,  xx: 

[18.  12"."  1638.]  Inasmuch  as  it  app?  y'.  the  Land  in  the  great  Letts 
y\  was  laid  out  to  Thomas  Line  &  Rich'.'  Sprague  prooves  altogeth";  un- 
usefull  being  nothing  but  Rockes  Wj^  was  wholly  besides  or  intent, 
&  only  through  oversight  of  the  Surveyo'-s  wee  Judge  it  to  bee  Just  & 
equall  y'.  they  have  allowance  elswhere  to  theire  satisfaction  they  leave- 
ing  the  affores*^  Rocks  to  lye  Common. 

Therefore,  Aug.  26,  1639,  it  was  agreed  "  y'.  Tho:  Line  shall 
have  some  Land  by  the  Mount  Prospect,  if  upon  view  it  may 
bee  had  by  his  Hay  ground."  This  was  laid  out  as  proposed; 
and  "  Here,  as  the  Lynde  family  increased,  several  houses 
were  built,  the  oldest  of  which  was  probably  built  by  Thomas, 
the  grantee,  on  the  site  of  the  brick-end  house  now  standing 
near  the  entrance  of  the  [Forest  Dale]  Cemetery  on  Forest 
Street."  =^ 

These  two  allotments  of  land  formed  the  beginning  of  the 
future  ownership,  by  Thomas  Lynde  and  his  descendants,  of 
not  only  this  land  on  the  northerly  side  of  Wayte's  Mount,  in 
Maiden,  but  of  nearly  all  the  territory  adjoining  and  now 
included  in  the  southern  part  of  Melrose. 

Deacon  Thomas  Lynde  died  in  Maiden,  Dec.  30,  1673.  His 
will  was  dated  Dec.  20,  167 1.  In  it  the  institution  of  slavery 
early  makes  itself  manifest  on  our  New  England  soil:  "As 
also  I  give  and  bequeath  to  her  [his  wife  Rebecca,]  my  Negro 

2  Qovity,  History  0/  Maiden,  ()().  ■'  Ibid. 


60  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Peter  &  Negro  girl  haru  to  Enjoy  and  Dispose  of  as  she  sees 
good." 

Ensign  Thomas  Lynde,  eldest  son  of  Deacon  Thomas  Lynde, 
was  born  in  England  in  i6i6,  and  came  to  Maiden  some  years 
before  its  incorporation,  when  it  was  known  as  Mystic  Side. 
He  may  have  lived  for  a  while  in  the  first  house  built  by  his 
father,  before  spoken  of;  but  soon  after,  about  1645,  ^'^  home- 
stead was  built  either  by  himself  or  his  father,  just  south  of 
Boston  Rock  on  the  present  Sylvan  Street,  near  the  north- 
western entrance  to  Wyoming  Cemetery.*  This  was  the  first 
house  built  on  Melrose  territory.  As  evidence  of  this  early 
residence  of  Ensign  Thomas  Lynde,  there  is  a  remonstrance, 
dated  March  16,  1648,  recorded  in  the  Massachusetts  Archives, 
vol.  121,  page  21,  against  the  laying  out  of  the  highway  from 
Winnesimet  to  Reading  as  then  contemplated,  in  which  refer- 
ence is  made  to  his  farm  lands,  the  appointment  of  Mr.  Lynde 
on  a  committee  to  take  the  matter  into  consideration,  and  the 
report  of  the  committee  thereon,  in  1648;  and  his  house  is 
referred  to  in  the  final  laying  out  of  this  road  in  1653.^ 

He  served  many  years  in  the  Military  Company  of  Maiden; 
was  Sergeant  in  1658,  and  Ensign  in  1675.  This  was  the  time 
of  "King  Philip's  War,"  and  in  August  of  this  year  Maiden  was 
called  upon  to  furnish  "ten  able  horses  well  shod  w"^  bridles  & 
sadles  well  shod  fitt  for  the  Countreys  seruice."  The  con- 
stable made  the  following  return: 

I  haue  im  prest  ten  horses  for  the  us  of  the  centre  a  cordin  to  the 

tener  of  the  warent.  Edmond  Chamberlin. 

Captin  John  wayt  Leftinant   John  Sprag 

Insine  Thomas  lind 

Samewill  Sprag  Samewel  lues 

Benjamin  whitemore 

Joel  Jenkins  thomas  grouer 

Steuen  grouer  Symon  grouer" 

Ten  years  later,  while  still  Ensign,  he  presented  the  follow- 
ing petition  asking  for  his  dismission  from  the  service: 

7])  the  Hoiiorcti  gcucrall  Court :  mno  sit'ni!^  in  Boston  The  petition  of 
Thomas  Lyiide  of  fiia/de/i    Hiiini>/y  Showeth:   whereas   you   haue  bin 

*   Geneatogies  of  the  Lyndcs,    in  ^  These  docunieuts  are  given    iu 

MSS.  b)-  .^rtenias  Barrett  and  Wil-  the  chapter  on  "  Roads,  Streets 
ton  F.  Bucknam.  and  Highway's. " 

"  IMass.  Archives,  Ixvii,  234. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


61 


pleased  to  Commission  your  Suplyant  to  y^  ofise  of  An  Ensigne  in  y*: 
foot  Comp>  :  military  of  maiden  An  throuj^h  the  Jnfirmytyes  of  age  J 
find  my  Selfe  altogether  in  capasytated  to  doe  you  any  further  Servis 
in  Said  ofise  J  beg  therefore  your  dismission  from  y'  servis:  and  shall 
pray  for  yo""  prosperyty  and  Remaine  you""  Humble  Serv' . 


May  6th,  16S5 


'^/A^<y        \^^^iyj^ 


In  the  year  1670,  Ensi\ni  Thomas  Lynde  built,  for  his  son 
Joseph,  a  homestead  on  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Main  Street 
and  Goodyear  Avenue,  which,  with  its  farm  of  many  acres, 
was  owned  up  to  within  a  few  years  by  one  of  his  descendants 


ENSIGN  THUJIAS  I^VNDE  IIUMESTEAD-KITU. 

of  the  sixth  generation,  another  Joseph  Lynde.  Soon  after, 
Ensign  Thomas  left  his  old  home  under  Boston  Rock  and  went 
to  live  with  his  son  Joseph,  where  he  remained  until  his  death 
in  1693;  '"i<^'  another  son,  Capt.  John  Lynde,  occupied  the  old 
homestead  of  his  father. 

The  house  built  b>-  the  father  at  this  time,  smaller  then  than 
now,  is  at  present  a  large  and  commodious  structure,  and  is  an 
interesting  specimen  of  the  ancient  colonial  architecture.  It 
is  still  in  a  most  excellent  state  of  preservation,  and  shaded  b\- 
its  ancestral  elms.     There  are  a   few  houses  now  standing  in 

"^  Mass.  Archives,  l.\x,  132. 


62 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


New  England  that  antedate  this  one;  there  are  none  that  pre- 
sent so  fine  an  appearance.  Not  many  of  our  modern  wooden 
houses  will  exist  at  the  end  of  two  and  a  quarter  centuries! 
But  this  is  a  strongly  built,  large-timbered  structure,  capable 
of  defying  the  elements  for  many  more  decades.'^ 

The  original  and  main  part  of  this  house  is  the  oldest  now 
existing  in  Melrose.  There  are  others  that  are  very  old,  but 
none  that  equals  this  in  age,  being  two  hundred  and  thirt)'-two 
years  old. 

In  the  chapter  on  "  Roads,  Streets  and  Highways,"  will  be 
found  a  petition  signed  by  Ensign  Thomas  Lynde,  with  a  fac- 
simile of  the  same,  dated  April  20,  1671.  This  was  prelimi- 
nary to  the  change  that  was  made  in  the  first  road  of  1653; 
and  the  action  of  the  Court  thereon  was  as  follows: 

This  19  September  71. 

In  Order  to  what  the  County  Court  held  at  Charlestown  the  —  of 
June  1 67 1  who  hath  Chosen  and  impowered  James  grene  Josias 
Conuers  and  Jonathan  Poole  to  state  the  hyway  now  Jn  question 
towards  Redding  nere  Ensign  Thomas  linds  being  in  his  grounds : : 
we  Whos  names  are  aboue  mentioned  do  therefore  Se  Cause  to  remoue 
the  hywaye  from  where  Jt  did  former  ly  that  Js  to  say  through  the  Oald 
feld  to  the  place  vnder  the  rocks  wliere  the  waye  now  lyes.     Witness 


our  hands. 


'^  For  some  interesting  items  con- 
cerning this  old  homestead,  I  am 
indebted  to  Mr.  Wilton  F.  Buck- 
nam,  author  of  the  Bnckna))i  Geiie- 
alogy,  a  lineal  descendant  of  the 
vSpragues,  Lyndes  and  Greens,  by 
intermarriage,  and  who  has  given 
much  attention  also  to  the  Sprague 
and  Lynde  genealogies,  as  well  as 
historic  matter  relating  to  these 
families.  In  a  letter  dated  July 
10,  1899,  he  states  that  the  original 
house  as  built  by  Ensign  Thomas 
Lynde  in  1670,  was  enlarged  and 
its  internal  arrangements  changed 
by  his  grandson  Col.  Joseph  Lynde. 
It  then  had  diamoud-paned  win- 
dows, which  came  from  England, 
the  glass  set  with  lead.  These 
windows  were  afterwards  trans- 
ferred to  the  Jabez  Lynde  house  on 


James  Grene 
Josias  Conuars 
Jonathan  Poole*' 

Washington  Street,  hereafter  re- 
ferred to.  The  stair-rails,  mould- 
ings and  tiles  for  these  alterations, 
also  came  from  England.  Some  of 
the  timbers  are  14  inches  square. 
He  also  states,  that  tradition  in 
the  Lynde  family  says,  that  owing 
to  some  disagreement  between  Dea. 
Thomas  Lynde,  the  original  settler 
in  Charlestown,  and  his  son,  Col. 
Joseph  Lynde,  brother  of  Ensign 
Thomas,  that  the  deacon  came  to 
live  in  this  new  house,  which  had 
bsen  built  in  part  by  the  father's 
money,  and  died  tliere  ;  which 
would  account  for  his  having  been 
buried  in  Bell  Rock  Cemetery, 
instead  of  at  Charlestown. 


Midd/t'se.x-  Court  Fi/rs,  October, 


1671. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  G3 

This  changed  the  road  from  the  east  side  of  Boston  Rock  to 
the  west  side;  "the  place  vnder  the  rocks  where  the  wave  now 
lyes,"  still  existing,  plainly  seen  and  easily  followed,  leaving 
Sylvan  Street  a  few  rods  east  of  Main  Street,  thence  skirting 
the  base  of  the  "rocks"  by  the  old  stone  wall,  to  the  residence 
of  the  late  D.  Alvin  Lynde,  enters  our  present  Main  Street, 
opposite  the  Henry  Lynde  mansion.  This  change  in  the  road 
accommodated  the  new  houses  then  built  and  to  be  built  by 
the  L}'ndes. 

From  Ensign  Thomas  Lynde  descended  all  the  Lyndes  that 
are  now  living,  or  have  lived  in  Melrose.  He  was  one  of  the 
Selectmen  of  Maiden  during  the  years  1678,  1684,  5,  6,  7  and  8." 
He  died  Oct.  15,  1693,  aged  jj  years.  By  his  will,  dated 
Oct.  3,  1693,  on  file  in  the  Probate  Court  at  East  Cambridge, 
he  divided  his  farm  between  his  sons  Joseph  and  John  ;  giving 


r^i^r,   f^M'-'--  ,.A.-'r  —  -         -      -      -  geict^Shl^'^^ 

to  Joseph  the  southern  portion,  and  to  John  the  northcni. 
This  farm  embraced  a  region  about  as  follows  :  Beginning  at 
the  southwestern  corner  and  extending  northerly  along  the 
line  of  Washington  Street  to  near  \V\-(Mning  A\enuc  ;  thence 
easterly  along  the  line  of  that  Axeiuie,  and  nearly  or  ciuite  to 
Lebanon  Street,  then  southerly,  embracing  the  territ(-)r\-  of 
Boston  Rock,  W\oming  Cemetery,  Pine  Banks  Park,  antl  For- 
est Dale  Cemetery,  to  Forest  Street  in  Maiden;  thence  westerly- 
to  Washington  Street,  embracing  "Island  Hill,"  between  Main 
Street  and  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad,  which  in  earl\-  da\s 

■"  Elizabeth,  (laughter  of  Knsigii  of  a  receipt  given  the  executors 
Thomas  Lyude,  and  .sister  to  Joseph  for  their  portion  of  the  estate  of 
and  John  Lynde,  married  Peter  her  grandfather,  Ensign  Thomas 
Tufts.  Her  daughter  married  Ja-  Lynde.  Tlie  black  spots  were  seal- 
cob  Hurd,  and  above  is  a  facsimile  ing-wax  seals. 


64 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


a 


i<4.^ 


■■^       '.-■■■ 


't^''*^ 


^^ 


11  The  above  iMlicr  iacMiaile  ui  .1  l.yiide,    Jauuary     n,      1736.       Mr. 

page  of  a  manuscript  sermon  which  Emerson  was    the    pastor   of   Mal- 

was  preached  by  the  Rev.  Joseph  den,  from   1721  to  1767. 
Emerson,    on    the    death    of    Mr. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  65 

was  surrounded  by  the  meadows  of  Three  Mile  Brook.  This 
hill  is  fast  disappearing  by  the  restless  hand  of  improvement 
and  utility.  One  of  the  descriptions  in  this  will  contains  this 
sentence:  "  Bounded  by  a  great  rock  at  the  corner  of  John 
Lyndes  about  20  rods  beyond  his  house."  This  "great  rock" 
was  the  well-remembered  immense  boulder  which  stood  near 
the  residence  of  George  Washington  Groxer,  on   IMain  Street. 

This  house  has  disappeared;  so,  also,  has  a  large  part  of  the 
boulder.  .These  changes  took  place  when  Mount  Vernon  Place 
was  laid  out,  and  the  houses  built  thereon,  together  with  those 
on  Main  Street  adjoining. 

Joseph  L\'nde,  born  Dec.  13,  1652,  who  received  the  old 
homestead,  and  the  southern  and  eastern  part  of  the  original 
farm,  embracing  what  is  now  Wyoming  Cemetery,  died  in 
1736,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three  years,  lea\-ing  his  real  estate 
to  his  son  Joseph;  he  gax'e  his  "  negro  Dinah  "  to  his  wife. 

In  the  Melrose  Public  Library  is  a  small  volume  containing 
four  of  his  printed  sermons,  which  were  preached  during  the 
year  1738.  It  was  at  this  time  that  occurred  the  visitation  of  a 
terrible  disease  in  Maiden,  carrying  off  two,  three,  four,  and  in 
one  instance  five  members  of  a  family,  mostly  children.  In 
the  midst  of  this  pestilence  the  inhabitants  cried  out  "  Be- 
hold !  The  Lord  hath  created  a  new  thing  in  the  midst  of  us. 
It  is  a  very  strange  punishment  that  He  is  inllicting  upon  us.'' 
It  was  called  a  "  throat  distemper."  The  titles  of  two  of  these 
sermons  are:  "  Early  Piety  P^ncouraged;  A  Discourse  occa- 
sional by  the  joyful  and  triumphant  Death  of  a  Young  Wo- 
man of  Maiden,  Who  died  of  the  Throat-Distemper,  Sept. 
6,  1738.  .-Etat.  21."  This  has  an  eight-paged  "Dedication 
To  the  Chikh'en  and  Youth  of  Maiden."  The  other  was  "  A 
Word  to  those  that  are  afflicted  very  much.  A  Sermon 
Preach'd  at  the  Lecture  in  Maiden,  October  20th,  1738.  On 
Occasion  of  the  repeated  and  multii)lied  Deaths  of  Children  in 
many  Families  in  said  Town,  by  the  Throat  Distemper."  This 
book  belonged  to  one  of  our  Howard  family,  as  is  shown  by 
the  autograph  inscription  on  the  fly-leaf:  "  Nathanael  HowartI 
his  Book  god  give  him  grace  hearin  to  look  in  the  >'ear  of 
March  the  14  Day  1758."  This  uniiiue  and  ancient  volume 
was  bought  at  an  auction  sale  and  presented  to  our  Public 
Library  by  John  W.  P^arwell,  Esq.^- 

^2  Facsimiles  of  the  title  pages  of  Corey  in  his  History  of  Muldtii, 
these   two    sermons    are   given   by       pp.  639,  640. 


66  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

This  farm  of  Dea.  Joseph  Lynde  was  bequeathed  to  his  son 
Joseph,  who  was  born  September  2,  1690;  and  it  was  while  in 
his  possession  that  the  changes  in  the  old  house,  heretofore 
spoken  of,  were  made,  lea\'ing  its  outward  appearance  about 
as  now  seen.  In  finishing  and  embellishing  the  parlor,  he 
adorned  the  large,  old-fashioned  fireplace  with  tiling.  His 
father  considered  this  a  piece  of  extravagance,  and  was  so 
incensed  that  he  struck  one  of  the  tiles  so  hard  with  his  cane 
that  it  broke;  and  it  so  remained  for  many  years.  When  this 
house  passed  out  of  the  possession  of  the  Lynde  family,  a 
few  years  since,  during  a  time  C~^  /^        ^    ' — ^ 

of  some  repairs,   these    tiles  ^_^^y'^^ ^^^ ^  ^^    oc<f   7^^ 
mysteriously  disappeared.^-^  ___^_/ 

Joseph  Lynde  was  an  active  man  in  town  affairs;  was  one  of 
the  Selectmen  for  fifteen  years,  between  1735  and  1760,  and  a 
member  of  the  Legislature  in  the  j^ears  1739,  1741  and  1743. 
He  died  March  16,  1763,  aged  72  years.  In  his  will  he 
bequeaths  his  "Negro  Dinah,"  and  his  farm  to  his  son  Nathan, 
who  was  born  July  13,  1732.  From  Nathan  the  homestead 
descended  to  his  son  Joseph,  born  July  30,  1769;  and  he  be- 
queathed it  to  his  son  Joseph,  .  /^ 
w4io  was  born  Nov.  19,  1804,  and  ,^Vv4Ry>-^  °^H 
never  married.  He  tilled  its  -^  / 
acres  until  he  died  in  1875,  ^^  ^^^*^  ^?>^  of  seventy  years,  when 
the  homestead  passed  into  the  possession  of  his  sister,  Mrs. 
Rebecca  Lynde  Eaton;  and  in  1881,  the  farm,  then  consisting 
of  175  acres,  was  bought  b\'  Hon.  Elisha  S.  Converse  of 
Maiden.  Thus  had  these  original  acres  remained  in  pos- 
session of  the  Lynde  family,  descending  from  father  to  son, 
through  seven  generations,  and  for  a  period  of  nearh'  two  and 
a  half  centuries.  While  the  farm  and  homestead  was  in  the 
possession  of  the  L}'ndes,  it  always  ex'idenced  thrift  and  enter- 
prise. Beautifulh'  situated  in  the  \-alle}^  between  ranges  of 
hills,  its  spacious  mansion,  shaded  l)y  tall  ancestral  elms,  its 
well-tilled  acres,  large  and  commodious  barns,  well  filled  with 
the  products  of  the  farm,  flocks  of  sheep  and  herds  of  cattle, 
all  indicated  one  of  the  good  old-fashioned  New  England 
homesteads,  which,  alas  !  grow  scarcer  as  the  years  go  by  ! 

On  the  western  portion   of  this  farm,  close  under  the  tower- 

^■^  Afterwards   one   was    given    to       serted  over  one  of  his  fireplaces. 
Hon.  Levi  S.  Gould,  who  had  it  in- 


c^fr«-« 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


67 


ing  eastern  ed^e  of  the  Middlesex  Fells,  and  near  the  Fells 
station,  the  Boston  Rubber  Shoe  Company,  of  which  Mr. 
Converse  is  the  principal  stockholder,  built  its  extensive 
manufacturing-  plant,  known  as  Factory  No.  2,  the  works 
at  Edgeworth  being  No.  i.  This  establishment  gives  em- 
plo3ment  to  hundreds  of  persons,  many  of  whom  are  residents 
of  our  city,  and  for  whom  the  Company  has  built  numerous 
dwellings  on  the  surrounding  acres.'-* 


."XtLROE.    'AA^^ 


This  \-iew  of  the  Boston  Rubber  Shoe  Compan\''s  Works  at 
the  Fells  is  taken  from  the  summit  of  Black  Rock.  In  the 
distance  is  seen  the  Maiden  Water  Reser\-oir,  on  the  top  of 
Wayte's  Mount. 

The  eastern  portion  of  this  farm,  south  of  Boston  Rock 
and  \\'yoming  Cemeter}-,  is  now  known  as  Pine  Banks  Park. 
This  is  a  tract  of  one  hundred  and  ten  acres,  nearly  all  of 
which  are  in  Melrose;  a  few  acres  are  across  the  line  in  Mai- 
den. Its  surface  is  di\-crsified  with  hill  and  dale,  bold  crags 
and  winding  streams.  It  has  in  its  central  part  se\eral  pecul- 
iarly formed  banks  and  knolls,  and  is  mostly  co\"ered  with 
trees;  the  pine  tree  largely  predominating;  hence  its  appro- 
priate name. 

Under  the  care  and  superintendence  of  Mr.  John  Davidson, 
Mr.  Con\-erse  has  built   man\-  smo(Uh   and   handsome  carriage 


'*  Since  writing  this  the  business  Rubber  Co.,"  but  the  business  con- 
has  been  absorbed  by  the  large  tinues  in  tlie  name  of  the  Hoston 
trust    known    as     "  United    .States       Rubber  Shoe  Company. 


68 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


roads,  many  of  them  bordered  with  shrubs  and  flowers,  wind- 
ing   through    these    acres    in    all    directions,    affording    miles 


constructed  to  its  top.  In  the  more 
central  part  is  situated  the  "Summit," 
reached  by  a  winding  road,  on  which 
111  observator}'  has  been  erected;  and 
from  uiiicli  a  ciiarmmg  view  of  the  surrounding  country  is 
obtained.  Nearby  is  "Island  Pond"  with  its  rustic  bridge 
and  adjoining  picnic  grove. 

Between  these  summits  there  is  "The  Intervale,"  a  densely 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


G9 


wooded  glen,  on  the  eastern  brow  of  which,  connecting  Wyo- 
ming and  Forest  Dale  Cemeteries,  runs  "  Hillside  Terrace," 
which  traverses  that  section  of  the  old  1653  road  between 
Winnesimett  and  Reading;  and  on  the  northern  part  of  this 
Park,  bordering  on  Main  and  Sylvan  Streets,  there  has  been 
established  the  links  of  the  Pine  Banks  Golf  Club. 

All  of  this  magnificent  territory-,  luxuriously  adorned  by 
nature,  and  lavishly  cared  for,  has  been  freely  opened  to  an 
appreciative  public  by  the  generous  owner.  Here  all  are 
invited  to  enjoy  the  many  walks  and  drives  which  intersect 
this  sylvan  retreat.  It  is  justly  becoming  a  famed  resort  for 
outing  parties.  Each  season  witnesses  the  coming  and  going 
of  thousands  of  visitors. 

There  is  one  unique  feature  in  this  Park  which  is  not  open 
to  the  public;  the  rustic  "Log  Cabin,"  situated  on  "  Island 
Pond  Road,"  not  far  from  the  romantic  "Lodge"  at  the  main 
entrance.  This  belongs  exclusi\ely  to  Mrs.  Mary  D.  Con- 
verse, wife  of  the  owner. 

It  is  furnished  with  the  old  fashioned  furniture  of  former 
days.  Its  walls  are  lined  with  pictures  of  historic  interest. 
It  contains  many  curiosities,  trophies  gathered  from  near  and 
from   far.     Among   the    man>'   interesting    articles    there  may 

be  mentioned  Egyptian  can- 
dlesticks, a  Roman  shield, 
boar's  head,  Chinese  gods, 
spinning  and  flax  wheels,  foot 
sto\"e,  warming  pan,  sabres, 
pistols,  powder-horn,  guns^ 
one  with  a  canteen,  from  the 
battlefield  of  "  Fair  Oaks," 
Confederate — cup  and  saucer 
from  the  Spanish  "Maria 
Theresa,"  etc.,  etc.  Occasion- 
al j:)arties  are  held  herein;  the 
marriage  ceremony  of  one  of 
the  daughters  of  the  Superin- 
OLD  CORN  MILL  — NOW  STANDING  tendcut.was  performed  there- 
iN  READING  ROOM  OF  MELROSE      [y^  a  short  time  a<^o 

PUBLIC    LIBRARY.  '  ,  .  T  ■       r 

At    the  time  this  farm   was 
sold,  and  the  contents  of  the  old  homestead  scattered  b\'  an 

auction  sale,  there  was   fount!   in   the  cellar  a   relic  of  the  old 


70  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

colonial  husbandry,  of  "\'e  olden  time,"  indeed.  It  is  made 
from  an  oak  lo.o-,  a  little  laro-er  and  taller  than  a  common 
barrel,  dus^-  out  like  a  mcM-tar,  with  iron  hoops  "around  it- 
It  has  two  heavy  wooden  pestles.  It  is  an  old  corn  or  samp 
mill;  in  it  was  pounded  the  corn  and  grain  for  family  use, 
doubtless  before  the  building  of  the  Coytmore  mill,  at  Mai- 
den Centre,  in  1640.  At  this  sale  of  the  farm  belongings 
in  1881,  this  mill  was  bought  by  Homer  S.  Littlefield,  who, 
a  few  years  afterwards,  presented  it  to  the  Town  of  Melrose. 
This  curious  and  antique  relic  of  by-gone  clays  is  now  safely 
cared  for  in   the  reading-room  of  the  Public  Library. 

Col.  Joseph  L>'nde,  a  brother  of  Ensign  Thomas,  born  June 
8,  1636,  was  a  prominent  and  wealthy  citizen  of  Charlestown. 
He  had  much  trouble  with  Gow  Andros,  in  1687,  relativ^e  to 
the  title  of  his  land.  In  1695,  he  was  commissioned  by  Lieut. 
Gov.  William  Stoughton,  to  pursue  the  Indians  who  had  made 
an  attack  on  the  town  of  Billerica.  His  report  of  this  expedi- 
tion is  as  follows: 

Aug".  23';'  1695.  Receiving"  commission  from  the  Honorable  William 
Stoughton,  Leutenant  Governor,  Commander  in  Cheif,  over  all  the 
province  of  Massachusetts,  with  instructions  for  his  Majesty's  service 
in  the  County  of  Middlesex :  pursuant  where  unto,  I  went  that  night 
to  Billerica,  where  I  found  about  three  hundred  men  in  arms  from 
Woburn,  Reading,  Maiden,  Medford,  Charlestown,  Cambridge,  Water- 
town,  under  conduct  of  Major  William  Johnson ;  Major  Jeremiah 
Swaine;  Major  Wade  Capt.  William  Greene;  Capt.  John  Greene; 
Lt.  Remington ;  Lt.  Haman  Capt.  Gerheld  Sergeant  Bond  and  Mr. 
Sherman.  That  night  we  marched  to  the  river  Merrimack,  guarded 
the  fords  there,  being  three  between  Andover  and  Chelmsford,  with 
about  fort}'  men  at  each  ford,  and  with  about  one  hundred  men 
encamped  that  Night  at  Prospect  Hill,  that  lies  between  Chelmsford 
and  the  river,  on  the  northern  side  of  the  Great  Swamp ;  leaving  the 
remaining  forces  to  guard  the  town.  As  soon  as  it  was  light,  on  the 
24  of  Aug.  instant,  we  sent  men  to  the  top  of  the  said  hill,  where  we 
had  a  view  of  the  said  swamp,  and  the  country  far  about,  but  could 
discover  no  fire  an}-where.  Thence  we  proceed  to  range  the  woods 
between  Andover  and  Chelmsford,  but  finding  no  sign  of  our  enemies, 
we  rendezvous  at  a  place  called  Sandy  Pond,  about  eight  miles  from 
Billerica  eastward ;  from  whence  about  ele\'en  of  the  clock  that  day  we 
went  to  the  Great  Swamp,  dismounted  half  our  men,  the  other  half 
taking  their  horses.  We  caused  the  men  on  foot  to  pass  through  the 
Swamp  in  a  rank,  each  man  at  a  distance  as  much  as  was  conveient, 
appointed  to  rendezvous  again  at  Prospect  Hill.     Major  Johnson  with 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  71 

about  forty  men  compassing  the  swamp  on  the  west  side,  and  myself 
with  the  rest  of  the  soldiers  on  the  east  side.  Our  men  on  foot  with 
much  difficulty  got  through  the  Swamp,  gave  us  account  that  they  saw 
a  new  track  and  smelt  Indians  in  one  place,  but  did  not  judge  by  their 
tracks  there  were  above  two.  having  again  rendezvous  about  four 
o'clock,  afternoon,  near  Prosect  Hill,  having  before  noon  ranged  the 
woods  belonging  partly  to  Andover  and  Chelmsford  to  the  eastward 
of  Prospect  Hill,  we  proceeded  to  range  the  woods  towards  Chelms- 
ford; rendezvousing  again  near  the  time  of  sunsetting  at  the  cheif 
fording  place  on  the  Merrimack  below  Hunts  Garrison:  where  I 
advised  with  all  our  officers.  Having  no  prospect  of  doing  service 
against  the  enemy ;  considering  the  evil  that  had  accrued  by  diuiding 
of  all  the  forces  at  once.  I  left  a  guard  of  ten  men  to  guard  that  ford 
under  the  direction  of  Hunt  and  Foster  of  P>illerica.  until  the  2()^^  of 
Aug.  instant,  at  night,  and  then  to  be  dismissed  without  further  order. 
Marching  then  up  to  Billerica  town  in  di\erse  parties,  we  rendezvous 
at  the  OrdinaiT,  where  paying  off  the  army  with  thankfuU  acknowl- 
edgements for  the  ready  and  willing  services.  —  at  their  request  I 
dismissed  them  according  to  their  desires,  to  make  the  best  of  their 
way  home  which  without  doubt  they  attended:  though  with  difficult}-. 
by  reason  of  the  darkness  of  the  night.  So  concluding, 
I  am  Sir  vour  Servant 


^Q>X^ 


Dated  at  Charlestown.  Aug.  25,  1695. 

Capt.  lohn  L\'n(k-,  who  r(jcei\ccl  from  his  father,  Ensi.L,Mi 
Thomas,  the  northern  part  of  the  farm,  left  the  old  orii,Mnal 
house  at  the  foot  of  Boston  Rock  and  built  his  new  house  in 
1693,  aiul  it  stood  where  lixcd  the  late  Warren  Lyndc.  The 
farm  and  homestead  is  now  owned  b\'  his  son,  Henry  Lx'iide. 

Warren  Lynde.  of  the  seventh  generation,  was  born  May  15, 
1799,  and  (lied  in  I<S8(S  at  the  age  of  eighty-nine  \ears.  The 
old  house  first  built  by  Knsign  Thomas  Lynde,  near  the 
entrance  to  the  W\omi  ng  Cemeter\-  was  abandoned.^"  The  old 
cellar-hole  and  well  existed  until  the  wall  of  the  cenieter_\-  was 
built.  The  story  is  told  among  the  Lynde  descendants,  of  a 
very  severe  winter  in   those  early  times.       A    long-continued 

1^  Massac/utset/s   Arc/iives.     Vol.  '"  .Mr.     I'.uckiiaiii    slates    in    the 

51,  page  41.     Col.  Lynde   died  Jan.       letter  heretofore  quoted,    that    this 
29,  1727,  aged  91  years.  old    abandoned    house    stood    until 

about  i8(X),  when  it  was  torn  down. 


72 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


snow-storm  completely  buried  the  house  from  sight;  and  the 
relatives  and  neighbors  went  to  the  house  on  snow-shoes,  and 
could  only  communicate  with  the  snow-entombed  family  from 
the  top  of  the  chimney,  through  which  provisions  were  passed 
and  the  inmates  thus  kept  from  starvation. 

The  Warren  Lynde  house,  with  its  contents,  was  burned 
April  10,  1819,  in  the  night  time,  the  family  barely  escaping 
with  their  lives,  and  the  present  capacious  mansion  was  built 
the  following  year  by  Warren's  father,  Benjamin  Lynde,  born 
Oct.  2,  1758,  who  inherited  the  place  by  will  from  his  father, 
Joseph,  together  with  "  Island   Hill  "  district  of  fifteen  acres, 


WARREN  LVXDE  HOMESTEAD. 

situated  in  Maiden  just  south  of  the  Melrose  line,  and  the  sixty 
acre  "Hill  Pasture  "now  known  as  Boston  Rock.  Benjamin 
was  a  member  of  Captain  Benjamin  Blaney's  Maiden  company- 
tnat  marched  to  Lexington,  April  19,  1775,  "to  resist  the  minis- 
teral  troops." 


^' 


^ /^^*<?<K  6  >^  <r-y/^<^C^ 


Captain  John  L}'nde  was  one  of  the  Selectmen  of  Maiden 
during  the  years  1695,  1700.  1703.  4  'i^^l  1708.^'    At  this  period, 

1''  John     Lj'iide     was    impressed  the  Maiden  military  company  about 

January,  iSy?'^;   "hyres  pemberton  the  beginning    of    the    eighteenth 

in  his  stead  ;"  was  with  Maj.  Wil-  century.     Corey,    History   of  Mal- 

lard   in    1676.     He   was   captain  of  den,  325,  718. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


73 


Maiden  laws  required  all  cattle  to  be  marked  in  some  manner, 
and  each  owner's  mark  to  be  recorded  in  the  town  book. 
Many  different  ear-marks  put  upon  cattle  by  different  farmers 
are  upon  record.  These  marks  were  snipped  on  the  ears  of 
these  creatures  in  every  conceivable  shape.  Under  date  of 
1689,  the  record  of  the  one  adopted  by  Capt.  Lynde,  is  as  fol- 
lows: "The  mark  which  cap.  John  Line  doe  put  upon  y"^  ears 
of  those  his  creturs  which  be  usually  ear  marks — That  is,  y*^ 
top  of  y^  near  eare  cut  sijuare  of,  and  a  slit  down  in  the  same 
eare.  Also  a  half  peney  cut  out  of  y^  under  side  of  y*  furder 
eare."i* 

Another  Lynde  homestead  was  that  of  another  Joseph, 
brother  of  Benjamin,  who  died  in  1798,  gixinj^  to  his  son 
John,  grandfather  of  Chief  Fire  Engineer,  A.  Wilbur  Lynde, 
his  farm  of  thirty  acres  situated  between  Grove  and  Upham 
Streets,  east  of  Lebanon  Street,  ^  ^o 

together    with    the     homestead         j?^>^/>t_      ^^X-^  9^C^ 
now  standing  on  the  corner  of   ^y  ^^^ 

Grove    and     Lebanon     Streets.  ^^^-^ 

This  came  to  be  known  among  the  Lyndes  as  "the  upper 
house."  Until  within  a  very  few  years  a  most  magnificent 
elm  tree  stood  in  the  square  in  front  of  this  mansion.  Old 
age,  lightning  and  the  gales  made  such  havoc  with  its  far 
spreading  and  aged  branches,  that  it  had  to  be  uprooted;  and 
the  homestead  it  had  sheltered  for  over  a  century  knew  it  no 

longer.  Two  other  farms 
joining  this  on  the  easterly- 
side,  belonging  to  John  and 
.Samuel  Grover,  were  pur- 
chased and  added  to  this 
in  1786.  The  old  home- 
stead still  remains  in  the 
possession  of  the  Lyndes, 
the  present  owners  being 
Miss  Louisa  L>nde.  Mrs. 
Sarah  K.  Gage,  a  sister,  and 
Mrs.  William  LnmhU'.  Init 
josKPH  i.vxDH  HOMESTE.^D.  ^,^^.     f.^^.,^^^     together     with 

some  adjoining  land,  was  bought  in  1856,  b>-  Hon.  Daniel  \V. 
Gooch,  Walter   Littlefield   and    Otis  Clapp;  surve>ed.  streets 

"  Capt.  Lynde  added  much  to  to  a  great  extent,  buying  house- 
his  farm  in  his  day.     Was  a  trader       hold    necessaries   in    quantity  and 


74  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

built,  and  laid  out  in  house  lots,  under  the  name  of  the  "  Home 
Association."  Several  lots  in  the  square  between  East  Foster, 
Sixth,  Laurel  and  Larrabee  Streets  were  reserved,  and  they 
form  what  is  now  know  as  "The  Common."  Most  of  these  lots 
were  then  sold,  or  soon  afterwards,  and  ha\e  been  very  gener- 
ally built  upon.  Additional  tracts  of  land  were  afterwards 
bought  and  many  dwellings  built  thereon.  The  whole  region 
has  come  to  be  known  as  East  Side. 

There  were  still  other  Lynde  homesteads.  The  very  old 
house  on  the  corner  of  Glen  and  Russell  Streets,  is  still  in 
possession  of  the  Lyndes,  being  owned  by  Franklin  G.  Lynde, 
who  inherited  it  through  a  nmnber  of  generations,  from 
the  original    owner.  Captain  John    Lynde,   who   inherited    the 


JOHN  LYNDE  HOMESTEAD. 

land  from  Ensign  Thomas  Lynde.  It  was  built  about  1700,  by 
Captain  Lynde,  for  his  son  John,  born  April  I.  1672;  after- 
wards it  was  bought  by  Jabez  Lynde,  born  January  lO,  1 744; 
from  whom  it  descended  to  the  late  Jonathan  Lynde,  born 
January  15,  17S5.  grandfather  of  the  present  owner;  and  who 
died  in  i86g,  aged  eighty-five  years.  The  will  of  Jabez  made 
in  1769,  speaks  of  his  negro  Zachary.  The  oldest  portion  of 
this  house,  to  which  an  addition  was  built  many  years  ago,  with 

selling  to  the  neighbors,  taking  his  days  for  market.  Buckuani,  letter 
pay    in    "  barter,"  and   had  regular       of  July  10,   1899. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  lb 

its  low-studded,  beam-crossed  ceilings,  is  two  centuries  old. 
Paintinj^s  and  photos^^raphs  vvithout  number,  have  been  taken, 
together  with  description  for  press  and  volume,  illustrating  its 
appearance  and  antiquity.  It  is  still  in  very  good  condition. 
In  it  was  born  the  late  Aaron  Green,  whose  father  once  tilled 
the  farm,  which  then  embraced  the  estate  now  owned  by  Hon. 
Daniel  Russell;  also  the  land  now  Russell  Park. 

Captain  John  Lynde  also  built  for  his  son  Thomas,  born 
Oct.  24,  1685,  at  about  the  same  lime,  1700,  the  old  house 
situated  about  one  hundred  rods  west  of  the  previous  one, 
being  the  last  house  on  Washington  Street  before  reaching  the 
Stoneham  line.  It  has  been  remodelled  and  now  presents  a 
modern  appearance.  Originally  it  had  a  very  large  chimney 
and  fireplace,  wide  front  door  through  which  huge  fire  logs 
were  taken,  and  3x4  diamond-paned  windows,  the  glass  secured 
by  lead  instead  of  putty. 

By  his  father's  will,  Thomas  had  the  right  "to  pass  and  re- 
pass over  to  the  Reading  Road,  leading  to  Maiden,  providing 
he  allows  his  brother  John  to  pass  and  repass  over  past  his 
house  to  the  old  road  leading  from  Maiden  to  Spot  Pond." 
This  first  way  was  aji  old  cart  path  leading  from  these  home- 
steads north  of  the  present  Daniel  Russell  estate,  over  to  the 
present  Henry  Lynde  house  to  what  is  now  Main  Street,  then 
the  Reading  Road.  This  was  the  only  way  the  occupants  of 
these  farms  had  of  getting  out  to  the  Reading  road  for  many 
years.  Captain  John  owned  a  negro  boy,  Samson,  whom  he 
disposed  of  by  this  same  will  made  in  1747.  The  old  home- 
stead remained  in  possession  of  the  Lyndes  for  a  number  of 
generations.  When  owned  by  Jabez,  it  was  alwa>-s  spoken  of 
as  "the  Jabe  L>'nde  place."  It  has  since  been  known  as  the 
"Grundy  place,"  having  passed  from  the  possession  of  the 
Lyndes  in  1850.  Jabez,  son  of  Joseph,  born  in  1719,  was 
Captain  of  the  "Maiden  Company  of  foot,"  in  1765.  When 
troops  were  wanted  for  the  movement  on  Crown  Point  in  1766, 
the  following  order  was  issued  by  Capt.  Lynde: 

To  M'  SaDiiiil  Baldwin.  Cor' 

Sir  you  are  Required  in  his  Majesties  Name  forthwith  to  warn  all 
the  Training  Souldiers  Within  your  Linuiiits  to  meet  at  the  House  of 
Mr  James  Kettles  Inhoklers  in  Maiden  on  Tuesday  the  17  Day  of  this 
Instant  June,  at  one  of  the  Clock  in  the  Afternoon  with  their  arms 
Ammunition  aquterments  as  the  Law  Directs  and  Make  Return  of  this 


76  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

warrant  With  your  Doings  herein  at  or  Before  the  time  Set  for  S^^ 
Training  Dated  in  Maiden  1766  June  g'^^  By  Order  of  Cap'  Jabez 
Lj-nds.  Ezra  Sargeant  MiUtary  Clark. 

This  is  endorsed  as  follows: 

I  have  warned  and  Caused  to  be  warned  agreeable  to  within  written 
Warrant.  Sam^-l  Baldwin. 

Capt.  Lynde  was  one  of  the  Selectmen  of  Maiden  during 
the  years  1766,  67  and  68.  His  son,  Jabez,  born  Jan.  10,  1744, 
was  sergeant  in  Capt.  Benjamin  Blaney's  company  that  went 
to  Lexington,  April  19,  1775;  also  in  the  Point  Shirley  Expe- 
dition, June,  1776.  He  received  six  pounds  bounty  Dec.  9, 
1776,  "Voted  by  the  Town  of  maiden  for  Prox'iding  a  Rein- 
forcement for  the  american  Army."^*' 

In  1781,  this  Mr.  Lynde  furnished  the  town  some  wood  and 
pork,  and  the  following  from  the  Order  Book  of  the  Select- 
men of  Maiden  shows  the  unsettled  state  of  the  currenc)'  at 
that  time: 

An  order  on  the  treasurer  to  Jabez  Lynde  for  £^2$,  equal  to  $1,083, 
and  2  shillings,  in  the  first  emission  of  Continental  Dollars,  for  half  a 
cord  of  pine  wood;  and  for  125  lbs.  of  pork  at  ;?8  per  lb.  for  the  poor, 
as  by  his  acct.  dated  Jan.  9,  1781,  may  appear. 

Dated  in  Maiden,  Jan.  11,  1781. 

By  order  of  the  Selectmen, 

Joseph  Perkins,  Town  Clerk. 

Thus  it  appears  from  the  foregoing  record,  that  nearly  all  of 
the  territor}'  now  forming  the  southern  portion  of  Melrose, 
with  the  exception  of  the  wilderness  portion  belonging  to  the 
Commons  and  Scadan  Woods,  originally  belonged  to  the 
L}'nde  family;  a  goodh'  number  of  its  acres,  which  ha\'e  been 
inherited  from  the  first  settler  thereon,  Ensign  Thomas  Lynde, 
still  remain  in  possession  of  his  descendants. 

The  following  incident  is  here  referred  to  to  show  how  dif- 
ferently political  office  is  regarded  to-day  from  what  it  was  in 
those  early  days.  There  is  no  date  given,  therefore  it  cannot 
be  said  which  of  the  Joseph  Lyndes,  and  there  were  many,  of 
whom  it  is  recorded,  that  instead  of  paying  anj'thing  to  get  an 
office,  "  insign  Joseph  lynde"  paid  the  town  of  Maiden  ;^5 
to  be  excused  from  serving  as  constable. 

The  cost  of  tuition  in  the  early  part  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury was    somewhat    less  than   it    is    at  the  beginning  of    the 

^^  Corey,  History  of  Maiden,  821. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  77 

twentieth,  as  may  be  seen  by  the  foUowin*,'  bill  paitl  by 
Stephen  Lynde,  son  of  Capt.  Jabez  l-vnde,  which,  among  other 
papers,  belongs  to  Mrs.  Sarah  G.  Crafts,  nee  Lynde: 

Stoneham,  Aug.  13,  1806. 
M?.-  Stephen  Lynde  Dr  to  Patty  Crooker 
for  instructing  two  of  his  Children   12  weeks  at  Seven  Cents  for  each 
Child  per  week  $1.68 

Rec'd  pay  Patty  Crooker. 

The  Spragues.  The  Sprague  families  have  ever  been  \ery 
prominent  and  intimately  connected  with  the  historx'  of  this 
town  from  its  earliest  days.  It  is  quite  certain  that  our  terri- 
tory was  visited  and  traversed  by  the  three  brothers,  Ralph 
Sprague,  Richard  Sprague  and  William  Sprague,  who  came 
over  from  England,  at  their  own  cost,  and 

who  with  three  or  four  more,  b}'  joint  consent  and  approbation  of 
Mr.  John  Endicott,  Governor,  did  the  same  summer  of  Anno  1628, 
undertake  a  journey  from  Salem,  and  travelled  the  woods  above  twelve 
miles  to  the  westward,  and  lighted  of  a  place  situate  and  lying  on  the 
north  side  of  Charles  River,  full  of  Indians  called  Aberginians.  Their 
old  Sachem  being  dead,  his  eldest  son,  [Monohaguaham]  by  the 
English  called  John  Sagamore,  was  their  chief,  and  a  man  natural!}-  of 
a  "gentle  and  good  disposition,-'^  by  whose  free  consent  they  settled 
about  the  hill  of  the  same  place  b}'  the  said  natives  called  Mishawum, 
[afterwards  called  Charlestown,]  where  they  found  but  one  English 
pallisadoed  and  thatched  house,  wherein  lived  Thomas  W'alford.  a 
smith,  situate  on  the  south  end  of  the  westermost  hill  of  the  East  Field, 
a  little  way  up  from  Charles  River  side,  and  upon  survey,  they  found 
it  was  a  neck  of  land  generally  full  of  stately  timber,  as  was  the 
main,  and  the  land  h'ing  on  the  east  side  of  the  river,  called  Mystick 
River,  from  the  farm  Mr.  Cradock's  servants  had  planted  called 
Mystick,  which  this  river  led  up  unto:  and  indeed  generally  all  the 
country  round  about,  was  an  uncouth  wilderness  full  of  timber.'"'-' 

-'^  His  home  in  Maiden  was  upon  .Spragues  could  not   have  gone  on 

the     creek   which    runs    from    the  their  journey  during  the   summer 

marshes     between     Powder     Horn  of  1628,  as  above  stated.     Corey,  in 

Hill,  on  which  the  Soldiers'  Home  a  letter  to  the  writer,  dated  Feb.  i, 

is  now  situated,  and  Winuisemmet,  1901,  thinks  that  the  Spragues  did 

into  the  Mystic  River,  at  Sweetser's  not  come  over  with  Gov.  Endicott, 

or  Beacham's  Point.  in  1628,  but  with  Higginson  in  1629, 

-^  Charlestown  Records,  Vol.  r.  and  during  that  summer  made  their 
The  above  record  was  written  by  journey.  This  view  is  sustained  by 
John  Greene,  in  1664,  and  is  wrong  Savage  in  his  Gettcaloi^ical  Die- 
in  its  chronology.  Gov.  Endicott  tionary,  and  Erothingham  in  his 
did  not  arrive  at  Salem,  until  Sep-  History  of  Charlestoxvn,  p.  14. 
tember,     1628,     con.sequently     the 


78  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

There  is  no  doubt  whatever,  but  that  the  Spragues  and  their 
companions,  were  the  first  civilized  men  whose  feet  trod  upon 
the  soil,  and  whose  eyes  gazed  upon  the  territory  now  Melrose, 
who  explored  with  the  view  of  making  a  permanent  settle- 
ment."^"-^  Undoubtedly  other  explorers  traversed  our  territory 
very  soon  after  the  Spragues,  for  Gov.  Thomas  Dudley,  writ- 
ing to  the  Countess  of  Lincoln,  in  England,  March  28,  1631,  in 
giving  an  account  of  the  dispersal  of  settlers  which  had  taken 
place  before  this  date,  at  various  places  around  Boston,  says: 
"  others  upon  the  River  Saugus  between  Salem  and  Charles- 
town."     In  travelling  from  Charlestown  to  Saugus,  seeking  out 


--  Couceruiug  the  route  of  the 
Spragues  during  this  exploration 
there  is  some  controversy.  Corey 
in  his  History  of  Maiden,  p.  19, 
says:  "Their  probable  course  may 
be  traced  along  the  Salem  path, 
which  we  may  believe  alread}-  ex- 
isted as  an  Indian  trail."  Such  a 
trail  would  necessitate  the  crossing 
of  the  Abousett,  or  Saugus  River, 
in  what  is  now  East  Saugus,  and 
near  its  mouth  where  it  is  quite 
wide  and  deep.  A  bridge  was  built 
here  about  1639,  after  which  the 
Salem  Path  undoubtedly  was  much 
travelled.  This  entered  Maiden  b}- 
Black  Ann's  Corner,  then  after 
following  the  present  Salem  vStreet 
a  while  ran  northwesterly  through 
the  Scadan  Woods  into  the  south- 
erly part  of  Melrose,  thence  wound 
around  north  of  Wayte's  Mount. 
But  I  am  led  to  believe  differently. 
It  is  distinctly  stated  in  the 
Charlesto'iVn  Records,  that  these  ex- 
plorers "  travelled  the  woods  above 
twelve  miles  to  the  westward." 
The  History  of  Ly>iii  by  Lewis  and 
Newhall,  p.  137,  under  date  of  1631, 
shows  a  far  more  proV)able  route  of 
travel  for  this  early  date  :  "  At  this 
time,  there  was  no  bridge  across 
Saugus  River,  and  people  who  trav- 
elled to  Boston  were  compelled  to 
pass    through     the    woods    in     the 


northern  part  of  the  town,  and  ford 
the  stream  by  the  Iron  Works, 
which  were  near  the  site  of  the 
present  woolen  factories  in  vSau- 
gus  Centre."  These  factories  were 
north  of  the  vSaugus  Town  Hall. 
Here  the  river  was  easily  forded. 
Traces  of  this  trail  existed  until 
within  a  short  time.  From  the 
ford  it  continued  westerly,  enter- 
ing the  confines  of  Melrose,  a 
little  way  south  of  the  cliffs  be- 
low John  Doherty's,  on  Upham 
Street,  entering  the  woods  and 
passing  over  what  became  the 
road  from  Maiden  through  Sau- 
gus to  Lynn,  and  which  was  laid 
out  in  1796,  a  part  of  which  is 
now  known  as  Altamont  Avenue; 
and  so  on  to  the  region  of  Spot 
Pond.  After  reaching  our  valley  it 
would  seem  that  the  Sprague  party 
turned  to  the  south,  crossed  the 
M3-stic,  and  ceased  their  journeying 
at  Charlestown,  where  they  soon 
afterwards  settled.  As  we  shall 
see,  the  Spragues  owned  land  to  the 
west  and  south  of  Ell  Pond,  on 
record  as  early  as  1638,  showing 
undoubted  ownership  some  years 
before;  clearly  indicating  to  my 
mind,  that  this  valley  was  thus 
explored  and  admired  during  that 
first  expedition. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


a  proper  place  for  settlement,  it  is  quite  feasible  to  suppose 
that  our  valley  was  visited  by  them  in  their  wanderings. 

That  the  SpT-agues  found  this  particular  tract  of  country- 
pleasant  and  attractive,  from  its  varied  scenery  and  adapta- 
bility as  a  place  of  settlement,  is  evidenced  by  the  fact  that 
as  early  as  1638,  only  nine  years  later,  the  Spragues  havinj,'  left 
Salem  and  settled  in  Charlestovvn,-^^  both  Ralph  and  Richard 
owned  by  allotment,  a  lar-,fe  tract  of  land  near  \\\\  Pond,'-^ 
naming  it  "Pond  Feilde." 

This  covered  a  large  part  of  what  is  now  the  westerly  part  of 
the  town.  Ralph  Sprague  had  "Ninetie  acres  of  land  by  esti- 
mation, more  or  lesse,  scituate  in  Pond  feilde;"  and  Richard 
had 

sixtie  acres  of  land  by  estimation,  more  or  lesse,  scituate  in  pcjnd 
feilde,-^  bounded  on  the  one  side  by  Ralph  Sprag^ue.  on  the  northeast 
by  ell  pond  and  the  river  [that  comes  through  the  meadow  into  Ell 
pond.  —  (ireen,]  and  on  the  northwest  by  the  comon.-'' 

All  this  territor}^  belonging  to  Charlestown,  north  of  the 
Mystic  River,  was  then  called  M\-stic  Side. 

These  three  Spragues  were  the  sons  of  Edward  Sprague,  a 
fuller,  of  Upway,  County  of  Dorset,  England.  Ralph  and 
Richard  were  both  prominent  in  Charlestown  affairs,  both 
being    among    the    founders  of    the   Church,   members  of    the 


General  Court,  Select- 
men for  several  years, 
atul  oflicers  in   the  Bos- 


-^^^^ 


^i^^«-^  ^  ^j?^^,,^ 


-•'  Richard  Frothingham,  in  bis  -■'  "  This  makes  it  certaiu  that 
_History  of  Chart cstonni,  p.  20,  gives  the  first  recorded  name  of  the  see- 
the names  of  "The  inhabitants  tiou  now  known  as  Melrose,  was 
yt :  first  settled  in  this  place  and  Pond  Feilde.  It  also  fixes  the  tak- 
brought  it  into  the  denomination  ing  up  of  land  here,  as  early  as 
of  an  English  Towue,"  and  tlie  1638."  .\ildress  of  Hon.  Levi  S. 
three  Spragues,  Ralph,  Richard  Gould,  at  annual  bancjuet  of  the 
and  William,  are  first  on  the  list.  Highlands  Congregational  Church 


-^  Variously  spelled  in  early  doc- 
uments: Iv,  Ell,  Eel,  Ele,  in  one 
place  in  the  Charlestown  Records  &?, 
Elnie;  and  in  the  Cogan  deed, 
hereafter  referred  to,  "  Yeale."     It 


in  1897. 

-''  Charlestoii'ti  Book  of  Posscs- 
sioiis,  in  "Third  Report  of  the 
Record  Commissioners  of  tlie  City 
of  Boston,"  pp.  33,  46.     I'luloubt- 


was  evidently  first  nameil  Iv  on  ac-  e<lly   the   first   compilation   of   the 

count  of  its  shape  and  it  was  always  kind  in  America, 

so  considered   by   the   early  inhalj-  -'"  Traced  from  the  original  docu- 

itants;  but  by  general  usage  is  now,  meiit,  now  at  City  Hall,  Hostoii. 
and  has  been,  spelletl  Ell. 


80  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

ton  Artillery  Company.     William  remo\'ed  to  Hingham,  where 
he  also  became  prominent  in  town  affairs. 

Richard  and  William  Sprague  signed  the  document  estab- 
lishing   the    first    Board    of    Selectmen    in    Charlestown,    and 

Ralph  was  one   of    the    eleven       »--,    /     q     ^ 

Selectmen  then  elected,  Febru-      /\^<^^-^^C^    ^tcc^c^aA^ 
ar>-  10,  1635.  ' —  ^ 

The  choosing  of  Selectmen  and  other  officers  at  Annual 
Town  Meetings  was  first  adopted  by  Massachusetts;  and  to 
Charlestown  —  of  which  we  were  originally  a  part  —  belongs 
the  honor  of  establishing  the  first  Board  of  Selectmen,  in  1635, 
six  years  after  its  settlement.  Dorchester,  two  years  before, 
had  tried  a  plan  which  approached  this  idea,  but  the  inhab- 
itants of  Charlestown  matured  and  consuminated  it,  and 
adopted  an  order,  the  original  of  which  is  still  preserved, 
with  the  signatures,  and  of  which  the  following  is  a  cop\-; 
and  a  facsimile  of  which  ma)-  be  found  in  Frothingham's 
History  of  CliarlcsiozvUy  p.  50. 

An  order  made  by  the  inhabitants  of  Charlestowne  at  a  full  meeting 
for  the  government  of  the  Town  by  Selectmen. 

In  consideration  of  the  great  trouble  and  chearg  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Charlestowne  by  reason  of  the  frequent  meeting  of  the  townsmen 
in  generall  and  y'  b}-  reason  of  many  men  meeting  thmgs  were  not  so 
easely  brought  unto  a  joynt  issue.  It  is  therefore  agreed  by  the  sayde 
townesmeix  iojmtly  that  these  eleven  men  whose  names  are  written  on 
the  other  syde,  (w^''  the  advice  of  Pastor  and  Teacher  desired  in  any 
case  of  conscience.)  shall  entreat  of  all  such  business  as  shall  con- 
scerne  the  Townsmen,  the  choice  of  officers  excepted,  and  what  they 
or  the  greater  part  of  them  shall  conclude  of  the  rest  of  the  towne 
willingly  to  submit  unto  as  their  owne  propper  act,  and  these  1 1  to 
continue  in  this  employment  for  one  yeare  next  ensuing,  the  date 
hereof  being  dated  this:   lo"'  of  February  1634  (1635.) 

In  witness  of  this  agreement  we  whose  names  are  under  written  ha\"e 
set  o'r  hands. 

Soon  afterward  the  General  Court  embodied  this  idea  in 
its  legislation,  and  proxided  for  general  town  government. 
Thenceforward,  from  that  da)'  to  this,  )'ear  after  )-ear,  the 
people  of  the  towns  have  met  in  open  town-meeting,  and 
with  free  discussion  upon  all  questions,  elected  their  Board 
of  Selectmen,  and  other  officers,  and  transacted  all  other 
necessary  business. 

-^  Traced  from  the  original  dociuneut,  now  at  City  Hall,  Boston. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  81 

The  Town  Mcctinij^s  of  New  Kns^laiul  have  ever  been  its  true 
^Mory;  and  before  the  Revolution,  they^  were,  indeed,  "the  nur- 
sery of  American  Independence."  Referrinrr  to  our  earl\-  town 
system,  George  William  Curtis  once  said: 

Each  town  was  a  small  but  perfect  republic  as  solitary  and  secluded 
in  the  New  England  wilderness  as  the  Swiss  cantons  among  the  Alps. 
No  other  practicable  human  institution  has  been  devised  or  conceived 
to  secure  the  just  ends  of  local  government  so  felicitous  as  the  Town 
Meeting. 

By  the  year  1640.  the  inhabitants  of  Charlestown  had  so 
increased  that  many  of  them  had  passed  over  the  Mystic 
River  and  made  quite  a  settlement  a  little  to  the  south  of 
Mount  Prospect,  now  called  Wayte's  Mount. 

In  1640,  Thomas  Coytmore,  quite  often  spelled  Coitmore, 
who  became  a  freeman  in  that  year,  and  who  was  one  of  the 
Deputies  to  the  General  Court  from  C  harlestown,  in  1640  and 
1641,  built  first  a  dam.  .md  then  a  mdl  at  Black  Rock,  on  Three 
Myle  Brook,  Mystic  Side,  on  the  power  made  by  the  water 
flowinnr  from  Kll  and  Spot  Ponds,  joining  as  they  did  at  Wyo- 
ming; thus  furnishing  grist-mill  privileges  to  these  increasing 
families  of  Mystic  Siders. 

Years  afterwards  this  site  was  utilized  for  manufacturing 
purposes.  In  1806,  three  brothers,  George,  Thomas  and  Eben- 
ezer  Odiorne,  purchased  the  land  and  water-power  at  Black 
Rock,  and  established  the  manufacture  of  nails;  being  the  first 
to  cut  and  head  them  by  one  opera' ion.  William  Barrett  had 
previoiisly.  in  1803,  established  the  silk-dyeing  business,  on  a 
site  near  the  Odiorne  mill,  and  still  carried  on  by  his  sons.  It 
is  known  as  the  Alaldeii  Dye  House. 

Among  those  who  left  Charlestown  and  settled  in  Mystic 
Side,  was  Ralph  .Sprague,  who  built  a  homestead  a  little  to  the 
norihwt  st  of  the  Coytmore  mill.  Dxing  in  1660,  he  bequeathed 
this  homestead  and  its  farm  to  his  sons  lohn  and  Phineas; 
and  bis  farm  in  Pond  ImiIcIc,  near  l.ll  Pond,  to  his  sons 
Richard  and  .Sam ml 

Ihis  I{1I  Pond  farm  was  situated  and  bt)unded  as  follows: 
Beginning  at  Spot  Pond  Brook,  below  Wyoming  Station,  and 
running  northeasti  rly  on  a  straight  line  on  east  sitle  of  Cottage 
Street,  crossing  West  Foster  Street  and  the  Boston  and  Maine 
Railroad,  through  the  late  \\  illiam  Bogle's  land,  thence  cross- 
ing  Essex   and   West    Kmersoii   -Streets  and    Lake  Avenue,  in 


82  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

a  straight  line,  to  Ell  Pond,  just  east  of  the  residence  of 
the  late  John  Shelton;  thence  northerly,  following  the  brook 
that  runs  from  Charles  Street  through  Otis  Street,  into  Ell 
Pond.  From  about  twenty  rods  beyond  Charles  Street  the  line 
ran  straight  to  Spot  Pond  Brook,  and  then  by  the  brook  to  the 
point  of  beginning.  The  oldest  son,  John,  bought  this  Ell 
Pond  farm  of  his  brothers  Richard  and  Samuel  in  1652.-^  The 
part  belonging  to  Richard  contained  sixtj'-seven  acres  of 
ploughed  and  meadow  land,  and  was  the  westerly  half.  His 
homestead  stood  near  Barrett  Mount,  on  the  southerly  side  of 
Maple  Street,  about  twenty  rods  west  of  Vinton  Street.  The 
old  cellar  was  visible  within  the  memory  of  some  now  living. 
John  Sprague  was  one  of  the  Selectmen  of  Maiden  for  many 
years,  and  a  Representative  to  the  General  Court  in  1690.  He 
was  one  of  the  committee  on  behalf  of  Maiden  to  la}'  out  the 
old  road  of  1653,  from  Winnesemit  to  Reading. 

John  Sprague  died  June  25,  1692,  aged  68,  and  b}'  his  will 
bequeathed  his  farm  to  his  sons  John  and  Phineas;  John  li\ing 
on  the  old  Maple  Street  place;  and  for  Phineas  a  homestead 
was  built  out  of  the  estate.  This  house  stood  where  now 
stands  the  residence  of  L.  Frank  Hinckley,  on  West  Foster 
Street,  near  the  junction  of  Florence,  Vinton  and  Maple 
Streets.  The  old  well  belonging  to  this  homestead,  with  its 
ancient  well-sweep,  was  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  street, 
near  where  now  stands  the  beautiful  and  symmetrical  elm 
tree;  the  spot  is  now  covered  by  Florence  Street,  then  only 
a  pathway.     This  well  was  in  use  as  late  as  1850. 

John  Sprague  was  Captain  in  the  Militar>'  Company  of  Mai- 
den, and  Phineas,  Ensign,  in  1689;  and  their  pre\'ious  military 
record  is  given  by  Corey  in  his  History  of  Maiden,  p.  327,  as 
follows:  "John  was  with  Maj.  W'illard  in  1676;"  and  P^hineas 
"was  with  Lieut.  Hase}-  in  the  Three  Count>-  Troop  in  1675 
and  1676;  was  with  Maj.  Williard  in  1676;  and  with  Capt. 
Wheeler  in  1676;  John  was  at  different  times,  linsign.  Lieuten- 
ant and  Captain  in  the  Military  Company  of  Maiden.  Both 
lohn  and  Phineas  were  of  the  seventy-four  proprietors  and 
freeholders  who  shared  in  the  allotment  of  the  Commons. 

His  brother,  Phineas,  was  a  Representati\e  to  the  General 
Court  in  1691;  and  there  is  a  record  of  hi.s  pay  as  such  mem- 
ber.    He   received    £\0,   iSs,  7d  for  eighteen  weeks  and  two 

^■'  Middlesex  Registry  Deeds,  Book  3,  p.  207. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


83 


da}'s  service;  about  two  shillings  per  day.  Quite  a  contrast 
this,  to  the  amount  paid  the  present  members  of  our  Legis- 
lature.^'' 

As  did  Capt.  John  Lynde,  so  did  Phineas  Sprague,  keep,  not 
as  a  store,  but  in  a  limited  way,  a  certain  line  of  goods,  which 
he  bought  in  considerable  quantities  and  "bartered"  with  his 
neighbors.^^ 

John  Sprague,  son  of  Capt.  John,  was  a  constable  of  Maiden, 
and  during  his  term  of  service  it  became  his  duty  to  serve, 
among  others,  the  following  warning,  duly  recorded  in  the 
Town  records  of   1745: 

To  vir  John  Spragiic,  constable  of  the  town  of  Maiden,  Greeting. 
In  his  magestys  name  you  are  required  forthwith  to  warn  Thankfull 
Burden  that  she  forthwith  depart  out  of  this  town,  and  that  she  take 
her  child  with  her.  and  that  they  be  not  resident  longer  any  in  said 
town ;  and  make  return  of  this  warrant  with  3-our  doings  herein  to  me 
the  Subscriber.  Dated  in  ]\Iaklen  august  the  26  day,  1745.  By  order 
of  the  Selectmen.  John  Shute,  Town  Clerk. 

thankfull  Burden  above  mentioned,  is  warned  according  to  the  tenor 
of  the  warrant  per  me.  John  Sprague,  Constable.^- 

Phineas  Sprague,  brother  of  John,  died  in  1736.  He  left  two 
sons,  Phineas  and  Samuel,  to  whom  he  bequeathed  his  two 
farms;  and  for  Phineas  he 'built,  in  1720,  a  homestead  on  the 
spot  where  now  stands  the  residence  of  the  late  Mrs.  Liberty 
Bigelow,  on  West  Foster  Street,  and  to  Samuel  he  gave  the  old 
homestead,  which  he  afterwards  deeded  to  his  brother  Phineas, 
in  1 761.  Middlesex  Deeds,  book  63,  p.  198.  This  Phineas  died  in 
1775;  and  b>-  his  will  the  property  passed  into  the  possession 
of  his  son   Phineas,  the  fourth  of  the  name,  who  was  born  in 


^'^  Sixty  years  later  the  compen- 
sation had  not  much  increased  as 
is  witnessed  by  the  following  vote 
passed  in  Town  Meeting  in  May, 
^753-  "Voted  That  the  person  or 
persons  that  shall  be  chose  at  this 
meeting  to  represent  the  town  in 
General  Court  shall  manifest  to  the 
town  at  sd  meeting  that  he  or  they 
will  draw  out  of  the  treasury  the 
money  that  may  become  due  by  law 
to  him  or  them  for  Sitting  in  said 
Court  and  then  immediately  deliver 
itjto  the  town  to  be  for  the  towns  use 
excepting  two  shillings  and  eight 


pence  per  day  to  a  man  to  be  at  his 
or  their  own  dispose  and  if  any 
person  or  persons  refuse  to  serve 
upon  said  condition  the  town  to 
proceed  to  another  cho3-ce  or 
choyces."  Joses  Buck  nam  was 
chosen  Representative  for  that 
year  and  upon  those  terms. 

■'1  Bucknam,  letter  of  July  10, 
1899. 

•*-  The  practice  of  warning  all 
new  comers  was  followed  in  order 
that  no  one  might  become  a  "  town 
charge." 


84  •    HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

1725,  in  this  West  Foster  Street  house,  where  he  lived  and  died. 
He  had  several  sons,  to  one  of  whom,  Jonathan,  he  gave  the 
old  homestead  built  for  Phineas,  the  first  of  the  name;  which, 
having  stood  a  hundred  years,  he  demolished,  and  built  the 
house  now  occupied  by  Mr.  Hinckley.  Another  son  was  also 
named  Phineas,  the  fifth  of  that  name;  but  at  the  death  of 
the  father,  Phineas,  in  1805,^^  at  the  age  of  eighty  years,  his 
homestead  passed  into  the  possession  of  another  son,  Cotton 
Sprague,  who  owned  it  until  1830,  when  it  was  sold,  and  was  no 
longer  owned  by  the  Spragues.  Cotton  Sprague  was  a  prom- 
inent and  influential  citizen.  He  was  a  member  of  the  Legis- 
lature for  the  years  1823,  '24,  '25  and  '26.  In  1S28  this  place 
was  bought  by  William  Foster  of  Boston,  who  demolished 
the  old  house,  and  built  the  one  now  standing  and  owned  by 
the  estate  of  the  late  Mrs.  Bigelow.  The  ver>'  large,  magnifi- 
cent elms  in  front  of  this  estate  are  more  than  a  century  old. 
The  eighteen  acres  in  front  of  the  house  were  purchased  in 
1845,  by  Jeremiah  Martin,  cut  up  into  house  lots,  and  are  now 
entirely  covered  with  buildings. 

Phineas  seems  to  have  been  a  favorite  name  in  the  Sprague 
families;  and  Phineas,  the  fourth,  was  the  father  of  the  late 
Captain  Phineas  Sprague,  who  was  born  in  1777,  during  the 
Revolution,  and  who  built  the  house  now  standing,  in  1812,  on 
Main  Street,  opposite  Ell  Pond,  in  which  he  spent  a  long  life, 
dying  in  1869,  at  the  age  of  ninety-two  j'ears.  He  was  a  shoe 
manufacturer,  and  continued  to  make  and  carry  his  shoes  to 
Boston  until  within  the  last  year  of  his  life.  "He  was  a 
worthy  citizen,  highly  esteemed  and  respected  by  all  who  knew 
him."  The  old  homestead  is  now  the  property  of  Samuel  H. 
Nowell. 

Samuel  Sprague,  one  of  the  veterans  of  the  Civil  War,  and 
who  lost  a  leg  at  Antietam,  is  also  a  descendant  of  the  Revo- 
lutionary Phineas  Sprague. 

Phineas,  the  fourth,  who  lived  on  West  Foster  Street,  was 
the    Revolutionary  patriot,  of    whom  many  interesting    anec- 


^^  His    epitaph    rau    as    follows:  His  alms  with  liberal  heart  he  gave 

"In      memory      of      M''  Phiuehas  unto  the  Sons  of  need 

Sprague  who  died  this  life  Decern-  His  memory  will  to  ages  Live 

her    the  28  aged    80  years  andomy  though  he  be  gone  in  deed." 
1805. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  85 

dotes  are  told.     He  kept  a  diary.     One  record  therein  gives 
some  details  concerning  the  old  couplet: 

In  1780,  the  nineteenth  day  of  May, 

Will  ever  be  remembered  as  being  the  dark  day. 

Friday,  May  the  19TH  17S0. 
This  day  was  the  most  Remarkable  day  that  ever  mj-  eyes  beheld 
the  air  had  bin  full  of  smoak  to  an  uncommon  degree  So  that  wee 
could  scairce  see  a  mountain  at  two  miles  distance  for  3  or  4  days  Past 
till  this  day  after  Noon  the  smoak  all  went  off  to  the  South  at  sunset  a 
very  black  bank  of  a  cloud  appeared  in  the  south  and  west  the  Nex 
morning  cloudey  and  thundered  in  the  west  about  ten  oclock  it  began 
to  Rain  and  grew  vere  dark  and  at  1 2  it  was  allmost  as  dark  as  Nite  so 
that  wee  was  obliged  to  lite  our  candels  and  Eate  our  dinner  by  candel 
lite  at  Noon  day  but  between  i  and  2  oclock  it  grew  lite  again  but  in 
the  Evening  the  cloud  caim  over  us  again  the  moon  was  about  the  full 
it  was  the  darkest  Nite  that  ever  was  seen  by  us  in  the  world. 

During  one  of  the  intercolonial  wars  between  the  French 
and  English  Colonies,  this  same  Sprague  furnished  a  substi- 
tute. 

Jan.  13,  1 761. 
Received  of  Phinehas  Sprague  june'r  eight  Pounds  lawful  money  it 
being  for  my  going  a  Solger  to  forte  Cumberland  and  I  had  a  promes, 
not  of  Six  Pounds  be  fore. 

Pr  me  John  Batts. 

When  slavery  existed  in  Massachusetts  some  of  these  old 
families  in  Melrose  were  slave-holders,  as  is  witnessed  by  fre- 
quent items  in  the  history  of  these  old  familes,  and  by  the  fol- 
lowing document  given  to  this  same  .Sprague.  Although  it 
existed  in  a  "mild  and  patriarchal  form,"  it  was  real  slavery, 
nevertheless,  and  human  beings  had  a  money  \-alue,  and  were 
bought  and  sold  like  cattle  or  real  estate: 

Know  all  men  by  these  present  that  I.  Thomas  Nickels,  of  Reding, 
In  the  County  of  middlesex,  gentilman  for  and  in  Consideration  of  the 
sum  of  thirty  three  pounds  six  shillings  and  Eight  pence  lawfull 
money  of  New  England  to  me  in  hand  paid  by  piniash  Sprague,  Jun 
of  Maiden  in  the  same  County  above  s''  Cordwinder  whereof  I  do 
hereby  acknowledge  the  Receipt  and  my  selfe  therewith  fuly  and 
entirely  satisfied  have  bargened  sold  set  over  and  Deliverd,  and  by 
these  present  in  plain  and  open  markit  acording  to  the  due  fourm  of 
law  in  that  case  mad  and  provided  do  bargain  set  over  and  Deliver 
unto  the  said  phinas  Spraigue  Jun  a  negro  woman  namd  pidge  with 
one  negro  boy  to  have  and  to  hold  to  his  proper  use  and  behoofe  of 


86  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

him  the  said  phinas  Spraigue  his  heirs,  executors  administrators  and 
assigns  for  ever  and  I  Thomas  nickles  for  my  self  my  heirs  executors 
administrators  and  asigns  ganst  all  in  all  manner  of  person  I  shall 
warrant  and  for  ever  Defend  by  these  presents  In  witness  whereof 
with  the  Deliver  of  the  bargained  persons  I  have  set  to  my  hand  and 
seal  the  twentj'-live  Day  of  april  in  the  i  7  fifty-three  year  of  y^  Raign 
of  oure  Souerign  lord  gorg  the  Second  ouer  grate  Britton. 

Thomas  Nichols  [seal]. 
Signed  and  our  Seal  1753  and  Delever  in  the  present  of  us. 

JoNA  Kidder. 
Edward  Lambert. 
And  the  following  anecdote  is  told  concerning  one  of  his 
slaves: 

He  (Phineas  3'?.)  owned  a  number  of  Negroes,  and  made  the  credu- 
lous darkies  believe  that  he  could  find  out  by  arithmetic  any  mischief 
they  had  been  up  to.  So  when  a  neighbor  made  a  complaint  that  he 
had  reason  to  believe  a  certain  negro  had  stolen  a  cart  chain,  he  called 
the  negro  up  and  told  him  he  suspected  he  had  been  doing  wrong,  and 
unless  he  owned  up.  he  (Phineas  3''.)  should  figure  it  out.  There  being 
no  confession,  he  would  then  take  his  chalk  and  board  and  sit  down  to 
cipher.  In  a  few  moments  he  would  musingly  say,  "  links  three  inches 
long ;  links  three  inches  long,  what  does  that  mean  ?"  Then  turning  to 
his  "  boy  "  he  would  say,  "  Pomp, "  or  whatever  his  name  might  be, 
"  Pomp,  3'ou  have  been  stealing  sausages."     Pomp,  astonished  at  such 

arithmetic,  would  say,  •'  no,  Massa,  me  no  steal  sassage,  me  steal  cart 
chain."  34 

Concerning  his  military  life  we  have  the  following: 

Although  somewhat  advanced  in  life,  and  being  quite  deaf,  when 
the  Revolutionary  War  broke  out,  and  the  call  was  made  for  the 
"minute-men,"  he  joined  the  Maiden  Company,  under  Captain  Nayler 
Hatch,  which  went  first  to  Beacham's  Point,  and  then  in  the  night,  to 
Concord  and  Lexington.  Mr.  Sprague's  "  heart  was  as  impervious  to 
fear,  as  his  ears  were  to  sound;"'  and  when  the  rest  of  his  comrades 
were  flying  from  the  view  of  the  enemy,  he  was  seen  upon  a  piece  of 
rising  ground  swinging  his  hat.  and  shouting  victory .35 

In  the  Centenial  year,  1875,  an  anonymous  communication 
in  the  Melrose  Jounial,  "  Melrose  in  the  Concord  Fight,"  ga\'e 
this  additional  item  concerning  his  Revolutionary  history: 

That  day  was  made  glorious  by  the  courage  and  patriotism  of  the 
yeomanry  of  old  Middlesex,  and  it  is  fit  and  proper  that  Concord  and 

^■*  Letter  to  Artenias  Barrett  from  '^  Thauksgiviug  discourse  at  Mal- 

Samuel  Poor,  June  1876.  den,  Dec.  i,  1831,  by  Rev.  S.  Osgood 

Wright,  p.  24. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  87 

Lexintrton  should  send  greetings  to  the  other  towns  of  Middlesex 
County,  and  in\-ite  them  to  be  represented  on  the  occasion  of  the  one- 
hundredth  anni\'ersary  of  the  most  creditable  events  of  American 
history.  Melrose  (at  that  time  known  as  North  Maiden)  was  but  a 
small  hamlet  of  a  score  or  two  of  dwellings,  and  perhaps  but  a  score  or 
two  of  men  capable  of  bearing  arms;  but  some  of  them,  on  hearing  of 
the  march  of  the  British  to  Concord,  left  their  work,  took  their  arms, 
w^ent  across  to  intercept  them,  and  did  noble  service  to  the  cause  of 
freedom.  Among  others  was  Sprague,  a  grandfather  of  the  late  Capt. 
Phineas  Sprague  of  Melrose,  and  a  worthy  by  the  name  of  Edmunds, 
whose  names  have  come  down  to  the  writer  by  tradition.  Sprague, 
ownmg  a  gun,  took  it  with  him.  Edmunds  had  no  arms ;  but  when 
they  arrived  at  the  scene  of  the  conflict, .  Edmunds,  having  recon- 
noitered,  discovered  a  British  soldier  prowling  away  from  the  main 
body  of  his  comrades,  and  borrowed  the  gun  from  his  neighbor 
Sprague  and  went  for  him.  When  he  encountered  the  soldier  they 
both  tired  at  each  other  at  the  same  time,  and  both  remained  unhurt. 
They  then  reloaded  their  pieces  ;  but  the  Britisher,  having  a  cartridge, 
was  the  first  to  load  and  fire,  and  missing  his  opponent  took  to  his 
heels.  Edmunds,  loading  his  piece  from  a  powder  horn,  required  more 
time,  but  when  his  flying  opponent  mounted  a  stone  wall  in  his  retreat, 
he,  with  a  well  directed  shot,  brought  him  to  the  ground,  securing  as 
trophies  a  good  king's  arm  and  his  other  accoutrements,  also,  what 
was  undoubtedly  very  acceptable,  the  rations  the  soldier  brought 
from  Boston.  Thus  were  two  of  our  country's  heroes  well  armed,  and 
from  the  accounts  that  tradition  has  brought  to  us,  they  bore  them- 
selves bravely  through  the  day,  being  in  the  thickest  of  the  fray. 

This  same  communication  relates  the  following  concerning 
a  later  experience  of  Mr.  Sprague,  when  he  and  others  made 
an  effort  to  cross  Mystic  River  during  the  progress  of  the 
battle  of  Bunker  Hill,  but  were  prevented  by  an  English  vessel 
in  the  river: 

At  low  water  there  was  a  foot-way  to  the  channel  and  a  boat  to  cross 
with.  Mr.  Sprague,  who  was  quite  deaf  but  very  courageous,  was 
determined  to  go  over,  and  when  on  his  way  he  was  shot  at  from  the 
vessel.  He  several  times  dared  them  to  fire,  and  they  shot  several 
nine-pound  balls  at  him,  which  missed  and  were  lodged  in  the  bank  of 
the  river.  He  afterward  dug  one  of  them  out  and  said  he  wanted  to 
keep  it  to  remember  the  devils  by.  That  ball  was  in  the  possession  of 
the  writer  for  a  long  time  but  it  has  disappeared. 

One  of  the  sons  of  this  Phineas,  was  Dr.  John  Sprague,  who 
was  born  January  13,  1754,  in  the  old  Foster  Street  homestead, 
but  became  a  resident  of  Maiden  Centre,  where  he  practiced 


88  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

medicine  for  thirty  years.^*'  He  served  as  surgeon's  mate  in 
Col.  Ebenezer  Bridge's  Regiment,  in  the  early  part  of  the 
Revolutionary  War;  entered  the  naval  service  as  surgeon,  was 
taken  prisoner  in  1777.  After  being  exchanged,  he  again 
became  a  surgeon  in  the  navy,  was  again  taken  prisoner, 
carried  to  Kinsale,  on  the  coast  of  Ireland,  detained  until  the 
winter  of  1781-2,  when  he  was  released.  The  following  is  a 
copy  of  his  discharge,  the  original  of  which  is  in  the  possession 
of  his  grandson,  Charles  H.  Sprague,  of  Maiden: 

To  all  Whom  it  may  Concern.  These  are  to  certify  That  the  Bearer, 
John  Sprague  an  American  Prisoner  of  War,  late  Surgeon  on  board 
the  Thomas  Merchant  Vessel,  is  set  at  Liberty  Pursuant  to  an  Order 
from  the  Hon'ble  Commissioners  for  Sick  and  Wounded  Seamen  and 
for  Exchanging  Prisoners  of  War.  Dated  at  Their  Office  on  Tower 
Hill  London,  The  Thirteenth  Day  of  November  Jnstant.  Civen 
under  my  hand  this  Twenty  Second  Day  of  November  1781 

J  NO  Howe  Agent 
for  Prisoners  of  War,  at  Kinsale. 

He  once  more  entered  the  service  as  surgeon  and  remained 
until  the  close  of  the  war.  He  practiced  medicine  in  Maiden 
until  his  death,  October  2t,  1803.  He  was  a  man  of  strong 
passion,  and  quite  a  wag,  withal.  The  late  Artemas  Barrett, 
whose  grandmother  was  a  sister  of  Ur.  Sprague,  relates  the 
following: 

Several  years  ago  the  writer  met  with  Capt.  John  Smith,  a  retired 
gentleman  in  Boston,  a  native  of  Maiden,  who  remembered  Dr.  Sprague 
very  well  and  said  he  was  a  highly  esteemed  citizen  and  a  very  skillful 
physician,  that  when  he  was  born  Dr.  Sprague  attended  his  mother 
and  said  in  a  merry  way  if  she  would  name  the  hoy  for  him  lie  would 
give  him  a  sheet  of  gingerbread,  so  his  mother  in  a  merr}-  mood  named 
him  John.  Capt.  Smith  furtlier  said  that  Dr.  Sprague  had  such  a 
lucrative  practice  it  brought  a  rival  to  Maiden,  a  Dr.  Goss  from  Cape 
Cod  to  compete  with  him  for  the  patronage.  The  mode  of  traveling 
in  those  times  was  on  horseback  with  a  pillion  behind  the  saddle  on 
which  the  wife  could  ride.  Dr.  (loss  staid  awliile  and  not  succeeding 
was  obliged  to  leave  the 
town  or  starve.  Soon 
after  his  departure  Dr. 
Sprague  wrote  a  poem 
which   he  posted   m    thu 

*'  The  name  Phiueas  is  still  in  Dr.  John  Spra<j;ne's  son  John,  l)orn 
evidence   in    the    Sprague    family!       in    1781,    was    Town    Treasurer    of 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  89 

public  places  in  Maiden.     Capt.   Smith  repeated  the  poem,  but  the 
following  verse  is  all  that  I  remember : 

Doctor  Goss  mounted  his  horse 

And  took  his  wife  behind  him 
He's  gone  to  Cape  Cod  so  far  from  God 

It  would  puzzle  the  devil  to  find  him. 

It  is  characteristic  of  the  Sprague's  to  abound  with  wit,  humor  and 
good  nature. 

Mr.  Barrett  also  relates  the  following  concerning  two  sons 
of  Dr.  John  Sprague: 

A  few  years  ago  the  writer  had  occasion  to  write  a  letter  to  one  of 
Phineas  Sprague's  grandsons,  Peter  S.  Sprague,  an  old  gentleman 
nearly  ninety  years  of  age,  living  in  Greenfield,  Mass.,  and  received  a 
reply  through  the  mail  directing  it  with  the  following  superscription 
covering  the  whole  of  one  side  of  the  en\'elope  : 

To  the  Postmaster.     Now  this  letter  I  wish  to  have 
Go  down  (before  it  stops)  unto  my  native  town 
Where  once  I  counted  my  good  friends  by  dozens 
Besides  some  thirty  yea  some  forty  cousins 
And  now  then  I'll  direct  you  further  still 
Its  five  or  six  miles  north  of  Bunker  Hill 
If  yet  you  cannot  see  Sir  where  this  goes 
Send  to  Artemas  Barrett  of  Melrose. 

On  the  other  side  of  the  envelope  was  written  the  following : 
You  see  that  I  am  far  from  hQm%  green 

Though  of  this  fact  the  public's  not  aware 
Well  many  a  flower's  born  to  blush  unseen 
And  waste  its  sweetness  on  the  desert  air. 

Here  is  exhibited  the  peculiar  bent  of  mind  running  in  his  father's 
family.  John  Sprague,  his  brother,  lived  and  died  in  Maiden.  In 
early  life  he  was  a  shoemaker,  afterwards  a  merchant,  and  became  one 
of  Maiden's  most  substantial,  wealthy  and  honored  citizens,  holding 
many  offices  of  trust.  Early  in  the  present  century  he  connected  him- 
self with  the  Baptist  church.  Difficulties  soon  arose  in  that  church 
about  settling  a  minister,  who  bore  the  title  of  Elder,  in  which  he  took 
part.  In  1812  he  wrote  a  brief  history  of  the  trouble  and  published  it 
in  pamphlet  form  which  is  now  extant  bearing  this  title :  T/ie  \  History  \ 
of  I  Wars  and  Fightings  \  [  Without  Shedding  of  Blood.]  \  in  the  \  Bap- 
tist Chiireh,  \  in  Ma/den.  \  Written  by  \  fohn  Sprague,  Sh.,  Mah.,  \ 
One  of  the  Metnbers.  \  Together  With  Some  Poetry  Never  \  Before 
Published. 

Maiden  many  years,  and  father  of       ren,  born  in  i860,  has  a  son  Phineas 
Charles  Hill  Sprague,  born  in  1827,       vShaw  Sprague,  born  in  1901. 
still  living.     His  son,  Phineas  War- 


90  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

This  title  indicates  the  style  of  the  work.  He  commences  with  the 
following  original : 

My  heart's  desire  is,  and  I'll  pray 
The  elder  and  the  deacon  may 
Have  all  their  wickedness  forgiven 
And  cease  to  sin,  and  seek  for  Heaven. 

And  when  their  lines  they  do  look  over, 
And  see  they've  sinn'd  against  Jehovah 
O  may  they  on  their  knees  fall  down, 
Confess  to  God,  lest  he  should  frown. 

Now  may  the  Lord,  who  dwells  on  high 
Forgive  their  sins,  and  pass  them  by. 
That  through  the  Saviour's  love  and  merit, 
The\'  may  eternal  life  inherit. 

Dr.  John  Sprague's  brother  William,  also  served  in  the 
Revolutionary  War.     He  was  in  the 

Lexington  alarm,  1775  ;  in  eight  months'  service  with  Capt.  N.  Hatch, 
Lieut.-Col.  Bond,  1775:  with  Capt.  B.  Blaney  in  Point  Shirley  exp., 
Jmie,  1776;  drafted  and  marched  for  Horse  Neck,  with  Capt.  John 
Walton,  Col.  Brooks,  Sept.  26,  1776;  in  Rhode  Island  service  with 
Capt.  Stephen  Dana,  Col.  Whitney,  Ma}-Jiily,  1775;  lost  on  armed 
brigantine  "Massachusetts,"  1770.  How  he  went  from  home  with 
"  his  maits  "  and  never  returned  may  best  be  told  in  the  quaint  words 
of  his  father,  Phineas  Sprague:^' 

William  Sprague  being  in  the  twenty  seacon  year  of  his  age  Shiped 
himself  with  a  number  more  of  his  maits  on  board  the  massachuset 
Brig  so  called  Bound  to  France  with  14  carige  gunes  and  a  Hundred 
men  —  the  Nex  Nite  after  She  Sailed  a  Voilent  Storm  of  Snow  caim 
on  and  Nothing  of  them  could  wee  ever  Hear  of  them  Since  tho  it  is 
Now  above  three  years  Since  he  took  his  leive  of  us  and  Bid  us  Fair 
well.:^^ 

The  original  way  of  tra\"elling-  from  these  Sprague  houses 
to  Maiden  Centre,  was  in  a  pathwa)'  which  was  nearly  on  a 
line  of  the  present  Cleveland  Street,  crossing  Spot  Pond 
Brook,  thence  over  the  Lynde  farm  to  what  is  now  Wash- 
ington Street,  the  present  "  backroad  "  to  Maiden. 

The  Greens.  As  were  the  Lyndes,  almost  the  sole  pro- 
prietors of  what  is  now  the  southern  territory  of  Melrose, 
so  were  the  Greens,  for  a  long  while  during  the  early  years, 
settlers  and  owners  of  what   is   now   the    Melrose    Highlands, 

^'  Corey,  //isfory  0/  Jl/a/i/c'?i,  S05,  -'^  From  Diary  of  Phineas  Sprague 

829.  now  lost. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


91 


and  a  large  part  of  Greenwood,  in  Wakefield,  which,  doubt- 
less, received  its  name  from  that  family;  their  land  also  ex- 
tended westerly  into  Stoneham  as  far  as  Doleful  Pond.  Then 
came  another  of  the  older  families,  the  Vintons,  who,  inter- 
marrying with  the  Greens,  in  process  of  time  came  to  possess 
a  large  part  of  the  Highlands  territory;  holding  it  until  about 
the  time  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad  was  built,  in  1845, 
when,  during  the  next  few  years,  the  land  ownership  almost 
wholly  passed  from  both  families  into  the  possession  of  the 
fast  growing  population  of  that  part  of  Melrose.  Only  a 
small  portion  of  the  original  Green  land  is  now  owned  by  any 
one  of  that  name.  The  family  of  the  late  Aaron  Vinton,  a 
great-great-grandson  of  the  original  settler,  Thomas  Vinton, 
still  owns  and  cultivates  a  small  farm,  situated  on  the  north- 
erly side  of  Howard  Street,  near  the  Saugus  line. 

The  first  settler  in  these  Highlands  was  Thomas  Green ;^^ 
who  was  born  in  England  about  1606,  came  to  America  in  1635, 
and  to  Maiden  as  early  as  October  28,  165 1,  when  his  wife 
Elizabeth,  and  daughter  bearing  the  same  name,  together  with 
thirtj^-four  others  signed  a  petition  to  the  General  Court,  in  be- 
half of  Maiden's  minister.  Rev.  Marmaduke  Matthews,  praying 
for  an  excuse  for  some  of  his  errors  and  failings.  He  was  one 
of  the  Selectmen  of  Maiden  in  1653  and  1658,  and  serv^ed 
many  times  on  the  Grand  Jury  of  the  County  of  Middlesex. 
He  came  into  possession  of  his  farm  at  the  Highlands  in  the 
following  manner:  Thomas  Coytmore,  who  first  settled  in 
Charlestown,  where  he  became  quite  an  extensive  land-owner, 
and  where  he  was  a  Selectman,  and  Representative  to  the 
General  Court,  and  who  built  the  mill  at  Mystic  Side  in  1640, 
before  spoken  of,  came  into  possession  of  one  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  of  land  King  north  of  Ell  Pond.  The  following 
order  gives  the  onlv  instance  known  where  the  name  of  our 


^^  "  In  view  of  our  recent  rapid 
growth,  and  the  evidences  of  youth 
on  every  hand,  it  is  hard  to  believe 
that  in  the  days  when  Oliver  Crom- 
well was  marching  at  the  head  of 
his  victorious  legions,  and  all 
Europe  trembled  at  his  voice,  with- 
in the  sound  of  your  curfew,  and 
upon  this  very    street,   [Franklin] 


Thomas  Green  was  living  in  peace 
and  in  comparative  security,  saving 
from  the  ever  present  danger  of 
the  lurking  and  wily  savage." 
Address  of  Hon.  Levi  S.  Gould,  at 
the  Annual  Banquet  of  the  High- 
lands Congregational  Church  in 
1897. 


92 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Pond  is  given  as  Elme,  as  it  is  here  in  the  margin,  but  not  in 
the  body  of  the  order: 

1648 
Ordered  to  lay  out  young        The  2oth  day  of  the  ^d  of  March  it  was  agreed 

Tlios.  Coitmore's  -^  ,    rr^,  t  •      1 

two  lots  by  Elme  Pond,  to  entreat  of  Bros.  Robt.  Hale  and  Thomas  Lind 
to  lay  out  young  Thos.  Coitmore's  two  lots  by  Ell  pond,  he  to  send 
one  to  go  with  them  to  help  them. 

Coytmore  died  in  1648.  His  widow  married  first,  Gov. 
John  Winthrop;  and  after  his  death  in  1649,  ^^i*^  married  John 
Cogan,  of  Boston,  and  they  came  into  possession  of  these  one 
hundred  and  fifty  acres.  Four  years  later,  in  1653,  John  and 
Martha  Cogan  sold  and  deeded  one-half  of  this  farm  to 
Thomas  Green.**^     He  built  his  homestead,  a  block  house,  on 


THlv  OLD  JOHN  GRHKX  PI.ACK. 

what  is  now  the  centre  of  Pratt  .Street,  half\va>-  between  the 
present  Franklin  Street  and  Highland  Avenue.  It  was  built 
strongh',  and  used  as  a  garrison  and  place  of  refuge  in  times  of 
trouble  between  the  early  settlers  of  that  region  and  the 
Indians.  This  old  house  was  demolished  about  the  year  1800, 
and  a  new  one  built  nearby,  on   the  old  Count>'  road,  now  the 

*"  I   have   iu    my    possession  the       tains     some     curiousl}-     expressed 
original,     quaintly     spelled,      and       conditions, 
time-stained     indenture.     It     con- 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


93 


PLATTERS  AND   WINE  GLASSES. 


corner  of  Franklin  and  Sargent  Streets,  where  now  stands  the 
house  of  Mrs.  R.  ]\I.  Taylor. 

This  house  was  moved  a  few  rods  back  and  now  stands  on 

Howie  Court.     It   has  received  alterations  and   improvements. 

This    group    of    two    large    pewter    platters    and     two    wine 

glasses,  belonged    to  the    original    Thomas    Green,  and    were 

brought  by  him  from  Eng- 
land. He  was  a  passenger 
on  the  ship  Paull,  which 
sailed  from  London,  and 
arrixed  in  V^irginia,  Juh'  6, 
1635.  There  were  originally 
fourof  these  platters.  These 
two  ha\e  descended  from 
generation  to  generation, 
and  were  the  property  of 
the  late  Mrs.  Dexter  Pratt, 
of  Melrose  Highlands,  a  de- 
scendant of  the  eighth  gen- 
eration. Mrs.  Pratt,  (//r^-' Abigail  Southwick)  was  born  on  the 
old  Green  farm,  about  a  dozen  rods  from  where  she  resided  at 
the  time  of  her  death.  Thomas  Green  bequeathed  his  farm  to 
his  sons,  Capt.  William  and  Henr\',  one-half  each.  William 
was  made  freeman  in  1668;  was  member  of  the  Maiden  Church, 
Captain  of  a  Military  Company,  and  Selectman  of  Maiden  for 
the  years  1678,  1683  and  1702.  William  sold  his  half  to  his 
brother  .Samuel  in  1670,  and  from  that  time  Samuel  occupied 
"  the  old  mansion  house."  In  1684,  he  bought  the  other  half 
of  the  farm  of  his  brother  Henr\'.  When  "The  Commons" 
were  about  to  be  divided  among  the  freeholders  of  Maiden  the 
following  \-ote  concerning  this  property  was  passed  at  a  Town 
Meeting  held  May  18,  1694:  "That  Samuel  Green  shall  Injoy 
his  hous  and  y*"  land  y'  stands  on,  and  so  much  land  about  It 
as  y^  Commite  shall  se  cause  to  lay  to  It;"  and  when  the  divi- 
sion was  mack'  the  ne.xt  )'ear,  another  reference  to  it  was  made 
when  describing  lot  No.  64,  of  "The  Commons:"  "Part  east 
against  Redding  Rhode  and  part  on  y^  west  of  y^  Green's 
farm." 

Afterwards  this  homestead  reverted  to  John  Green,  son  of 
William.  He  was  a  selectman  of  .Stoneham  in  1735.  This  was 
after  this  part  of  North  Maiden  had  been  set  off  to  Stoneham, 


94  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

which,  years  later,  came  back  to  Melrose.  John's  will  men- 
tions his  son  John,  who  has  "  my  dwelling-house  and  farm  and 
the  land  adjoining,  that  h'eth  on  the  west  side  of  the  country 
road  that  leadeth  from  Maiden  to  Reading,  that  was  my  grand- 
father's; "  and  son  Jonas  has  "  all  my  land  on  the  east  of  the 
country  road  aforesaid."  He  built  thereon  a  house,  just  this 
side  of  the  Wakefield  line,  on  Main  Street,  which  disappeared 
a  few  years  since. 

John  Green  left  his  property  to  his  son  John,  who  be- 
queathed it  to  his  only  son  John,  who  was  a  bachelor.  Be- 
fore the  death  of  the  latter,  he  de\'ised  it  to  William  Green, 
or,  more  truly  to  his  wife,  Abigail  Green,  who  li\ed  with  him 
many  years,  says  the  ]'inton  Genealogy,  and  took  care  of  him 
,in  his  old  age,  till  the  very  end.  At  the  death  of  Abigail 
Green,  Nov.  6,  1848,  she  left  the  propert}'  to  her  sister  Sarah, 
widow  of  Aaron  Green,  who  was  a  descendant  in  the  fifth  gen- 
eration from  the  original  Thomas,  by  another  line.  At  her 
death  the  property  went  to  her  daughter  Abigail,  who  married 
Edmund  B.  Southwick.  This  daughter,  Abigail,  was  the  sister 
of  the  late  Aaron  Green,  who  was  born  in  the  old  Lynde  house, 
on  Russell  Street,  March  14,  1802,  and  who  died  April  23, 
1882,  eighty-two  years  of  age.  Mr.  Green  served  sex^eral  years 
as  one  of  the  Assessors  of  Melrose;  was  also  on  the  School 
Committee. 

There  were  other  descendants  of  the  original  Thomas  Green, 
who  li\'ed  on  other  farms  on  the  territory  first  Charlestown, 
then  Maiden,  then  Stoneham,  and  then  JNIelrose.  Others 
li\'ed  in  Maiden  proper.  Onl}'  the  ownership  of  the  homestead 
of  the  first  settler  is  here  traced. 

In  1682,  John,  Henry  and  Samuel  Green,  bought  of  Thomas 
Robinson  and  John  Floyd,  the  northerh'  part  of  a  farm  north 
of  Ell  Pond,  bounded  easterly  b}-  the  "Redding  highway, 
northerl}'  and  westerl)-  on  the  Common  land  southerly  b)- 
y*^  said  Greens  land."-^'  It  was  in  what  is  now  Melrose  High- 
lands. On  this  farm  was  iDuilt  the  homestead  for  John  Green. 
Henr\'  Green's  farm  and  house  was  situated  near  tlie  corner  of 
Franklin  and  Vinton  Streets,  and  it  afterward  passed  into  the 
possession  of  the  Vintons.  Isaac,  son  of  above  Samuel,  had 
his  homestead  on  w  hat  is  now  Ashland  Street,  a  few  r(-)ds  south 
of  Franklin  Street.      In  1758,  he  sold  his  estate  to  Thomas  and 

^^  Middlesex  Deeds,  liook  8,  pp.  301-2. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  95 

Hannah  Vinton.  Hannah  was  Isaac's  daughter.  The  farm 
consisted  of  nineteen  acres,  and  was  "  bounded  northerly  and 
northeasterly  by  a  Lane  that  goes  from  my  dwelling  house  to 
the  Count}'  Road."  This  lane  is  now  Ashland  Street,  and  the 
County  road  Franklin  Street. 

Another  Isaac  Green,  a  grandson  of  Thomas,  lived  about 
half  a  mile  west  of  the  Highlands  Station.  He  was  a  Select- 
man of  Stoneham  in  the  }'ears  of  1745,  '53,  and  '58.  Thg 
following  is  a  cop\'  of  a  unique  receipt  he  ga\e  on  account  of 
an  indebtedness: 

Malden,  July  3-e  20th  i-j^g, 

Recei\'ed  of  Benoni  \'inton  of  Maiden  the  sum  of  fiftj'  pounds 
Lawful!  nione}-  being  in  full  on  all  accounts  debts  dues  &  Demands 
due  or  pa}-able  from  him  to  me  from  the  beginning  of  the  world  to  this 
da}-.  Reed  by  me         Isaac  Greex. 

Test  Jonathan  Green. 

Among  these  other  descendants  were  the  following  who 
lived  in  Stoneham:  Deacon  Joseph  Green,  whose  farm  was 
near  where  the  Highlands  Station  now  is.  He  was  a  Select- 
man of  Stoneham  in  1747,  '49,  '54,  '5  and  '8.  April  16,  1770,  he 
sold  half  of  his  farm  to  Thomas  Vinton,  and  April  15,  1777, 
the  other  half  to  Ezra  Vinton,  a  brother  of  Thomas;  Captain 
Josiah  Green,  who  was  born  in  1735,  and  lived  on  the  county 
road  from  Stoneham  to  L}'nn  about  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
west  of  the  Highlands  Station,  on  Howard  Street.  He  was 
Selectman  1781,  '6,  '7,  1791  and  '92.  His  first  wife,  Elizabeth 
Green,  died  in  1798,  having  borne  him  eight  children.  He 
then,  at  the  age  of  64,  married  Sarah  Skinner,  a  woman  twent}'- 
two  years  of  age,  and  forty-two  years  younger  than  himself. 
She  also  bore  him  eight  children.  The  Vinton  Genealogy  sa}'s 
concerning  this  Captain  Green: 

A  most  remarkable  family  '  \Miere  can  a  parallel  be  found?  Eight 
children  born  after  the  father  had  passed  his  sixty-rtfth  year!  Rebecca, 
the  youngest,  born  in  her  father's  seventy-ninth  year !  Some  twelve  or 
more  of  his  great-grandchildren  older  than  some  of  his  children  ! 
Three  daughters  named  Sarah,  two  living  at  the  same  time!  On  the 
27'h  of  April,  1S06,  Josiah  Green  had  a  daughter  Susanna,  a  grand- 
daughter Paulina  Bucknam,  and  a  great  grandchild,  all  born  on  the 
same  day !  The  same  accoucheur.  Dr.  Hart  of  South  Reading,  and 
the  same  women  attended  in  all  three  cases !  !  !  This  is  reported  on 
good  authority. 

Many    descendants    of    Thomas    Green    settled    in    Maiden 


96  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

proper,  and  attained  prominence  in  civic,  town  and  military 
affairs.  In  the  will  of  one  of  them,  Deacon  Daniel  Green, 
grandson  of  Thomas,  born  in  i68i,  he  bequeathed  to  his  wife 
Mary,  his  "  negro  woman  and  children."  Another  grandson, 
Jacob,  born  in  1689,  kept  a  diary,  or  "book  of  memorabilia: 
Jacob  Green,  his  Writing  Book,"  which  is  still  preserv-ed.  It 
is  a  small  leather-bound  volume,  3^17  by  6  inches,  containing 
about  140  pages.  It  is  mostly  in  the  handwriting  of  Jacob,  but 
partly  in  that  of  his  son.  Rev.  Jacob  Green. 

A  great-grandson  of  Thomas  was  William  Green,  born  in 
1683.  He  was  a  carpenter.  As  a  curiosity  a  copy  of  the  con- 
tract for  building  a  school-house  is  here  gi\'en: 

Artecles  of  agrement  made  an  Concluded  between  ye  Select  men 
of  Maldon  and  William  Green  of  y^  sd  town  carpender  Referring 
two  y^  bulding  of  a  school  house  for  y^  sd  Town  of  Maldon  \^  demen- 
tions  and  conditions  are  as  foloeth : 

Viz  :  That  y^  sd  William  Green  doath  Covenant  and  agree  with 
ye  sd  Select  men  to  Buld  ahous  to  keep  school  in  for  ye  town  of  Mal- 
don ye  dementions  are  as  foloeth ;  viz ;  Twenty  foots  in  Lenght  and 
sixteen  foots  in  bredth  six  foots  between  joynts  and  Buld  a  Chimne  in 
sd  hous  nere  seven  foots  between  ye  gams  and  Lay  a  harth  in  sd 
Chimne  and  cover  sd  hous  tite  with  Boords  Rough  and  Sides  —  and 
Shingel  ye  Rough  of  sd  hous  and  two  Lay  one  flower  and  two  make  it 
with  crooked  beams  Riseing  two  foots  at  ye  Lest  for  Roufe  4  beems, 
and  Ribed  upon  sd  beems  as  may  be  suflfistient  and  Brick  ye  wals  to 
ye  plaets  and  make  two  windores  one  on  ye  South  and  ye  other  on  ye 
Est  and  make  ye  dower  of  plain  Boords.  Sd  house  being  Studed 
about  3  foots  asunder  and  two  tind  all  for  sd  house  so  fer  as  has  bin 
mentioned  and  two  set  it  wher  ye  towne  shall  agree  and  to  under  pin 
sd  house.  And  ye  above  sd  select  men  dou  promis  and  agree  in 
behaef  of  ye  Town  of  maldon  to  pay  or  case  to  be  paid  unto  ye  above 
sd  William  Green  19  pounds  for  ye  above  said  woork  and  where  with 
all  to  do  ye  same  as  foloeth ;  5  pounds  and  twelve  shillings  in  Boords 
and  ye  Remainder  in  money  as  ye  woork  shall  go  forward.  And  sd 
woork  to  be  don  forthwith,  by  ye  20  of  Aprill  next  ye  woork  is  to  be 
competed,  as  ye  seson  will  alowe  all  such  Artikels  and  agreements  to 
be  performed  by  booth  partys  in  Wittness  whare  of  thay  have  here 
unto  set  thare  hands  this  27  clay  of  October  171 2  and  in  ye  elevent 
yere  of  her  Majest's  Reign  Queen  Anne. 

William  Green, 
Henry  Green,    ") 

Thos.  Newhall,  !   o  1     ^ 

-  Selectmen. 
Samll  Sprague,  I 

John  Green        J 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


97 


As  has  been  seen,  this  original  Green  farm  was  situated  first 
in  Charlestovvn,  then  in  Maiden,  then  set  off  to  Stoneham,  and 
then,  in  1853,  it  was  set  off  to  Melrose;  and  it  was  in  the  pos- 
session of  the  Greens  for  over  two  centuries. 

The  late  Elbridge  Green,  who  built  the  house  now  standing 
at  No.  467  Main  Street,  was  the  son  of  Reuben,  a  descendant 
of  the  sixth  generation  from  the  original  Thomas  Green.  He 
was  born  in  i8li,and  died  Feb.  21,  1898,  aged  eighty-seven 
years.  He  held  several  town  offices.  He  was  the  first  Town 
Clerk  after  Melrose  was  incorporated.  He  served  as  Modera- 
tor at  one  Town  Meeting,  as  Assessor  for  three  years,  and 
was  on  the  School  Committee  two  or  three  years.  He  was  an 
upright  and  exemplary  citizen;  "a  gentleman  of  the  old 
school." 

There  are  still  Green  descendants  living  at  the  Highlands; 
among  them  Levi  W.  Green,  of  the  seventh  generation,  now- 
living  on  Franklin  Street,  whose  father,  Peter  Green,  lived  on 
"  Green  Lane,"  now  Orris  Street;  some  of  this  land  is  still 
owned  by  the  Greens.     Another  is   Mrs.  Emily  G.  Cochrane, 

daughter  of  the  late  Aaron 
Green,  and  mother  of  Mau- 
rice G.  Cochrane,  formerK- 
one  of  our  Park  Commission- 
ers. 

Captain  Jonathan  Green,  of 
"  Green  Lane,"  now  Orris 
Street,  was  of  the  fourth  gen- 
eration from  Thomas.  He 
was  a  leading  man  in  Stone- 
ham  for  many  years;  cap- 
tain of  a  military  company-; 
Selectma'n  twenty  years; 
Town  Clerk  and  Treasurer 
twenty -five  years;  member 
of  the  Convention  assem- 
bled in  Boston,  in  1788,  to 
ratify  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States.  His  farm 
contained  215  acres.  His 
house,  still   standing,  and  occupied    b\-  a  descendant,  is  near 

*-  This  unique  corner  closet  contains  many  of  the  old  china  and  "other 
faniilv  heir-looms." 


JR  AND  CORNER   BII'FKT. 


98 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


the  line  between  Melrose  and  Stoneham.  It  was  built  early 
in  the  i8th  century,  and  has  been  occupied  1d_\'  five  genera- 
tions of  Jonathan  Greens.  Tradition  says  that  the  builder 
utilized  one  end  of  his  house  for  a  while  as  a  barn. 

Captain  Green  kept  a  diar\'  of  the  most  important  events 
that  occurred  during  the  years  from  1738  to  1745,  wherein  he 
recorded  the  various  house  and  barn  raisings,  the  going  to 
Lynn  for  shad,  the  fact  that  he  "  Went  to  Nahant  for  a  frolick," 
and  that  "  My  Sheepskin  Breeches  made  up;"  also  "  My  Green 
fustian  Cote  &  Gold  trimed  Jacket  made  up."  Some  of  the 
more  important  events  are  thus  recorded: 

1738  Jul}'      I      Bought  our  Negro. 

1 740  July     9     Proclamation  for  volunteers  posted  and   Bees  honey 

melted  down  in  y^  hi\-e. 
Sept     I      Mr.  Whittield  precht  at  Boston. 

1 741  June  15     Chose  our  Son  Representative  [Samuel  Green.] 
Sept.  20     A  Cattemont  seen  at  Maiden. 

1743  June  22     Unyousal  worms  seen  at  Cha^-  which  devoured  grass 

and  Indian  &  English  Corn. 

Jul}'     3     They  were  seen  in  Jabez  Green's  tield. 

Aug     5     A  fast  Kept  at  Maiden  on  ye  account  of  y^  worms. 

Aug  27     Thanksgi\ing  day  at  Maiden  on  y^  account  of  ye  de- 
parture  of  ye  worms   yt  eat   ye  grass. 

Nov.  22     Remarkable  high  tides  So  high  that  it  carried  away 
>2  ye  Stacks  on  ye  Marsh  Some  it  carried  over  ye 
Causey  at  Charlestown  neck  of  land. 
"     31     A  Bear  Killed  in  Ephraim  Browns  Swamp  in  Stoneham 
by  about  16  Men. 

1744  April    7     James  Hay  bought  his  Molatto  Negro  aged  8  yrs. 
June     3     Sabbath   1  )ay   ye  Earthquakes    heard  3  times   ye  first 

time  a   very  hard   Shake   so  y>   ye  Stone  wall  fel 

Down  in  many  places. 

June  28     Fast  in  this  pro\ince  on  ye  account  of  ye  french  war. 

[This  was  the  French  and  Indian  War  of   1744-47.     Capt.  Green 

afterwards  speaks  of  "  lirst  training  to   List  A'olunteers  to  go.  none 

listed."] 

Pre\ious  to  the  time  of  setting  off  the  tc-n  families  li\-ing  on 
the  territory-  now  Cireenwood  to  Reading,  in  1727,  some  (^f 
those  living  on  territory'  farther  south,  now  Melrose,  were 
dissatisfied  with  their  Church  privileges;  and  Ma}'  15,  1722, 
it  is  recorded: 

John  Green  Att  y  farms  [the  original  homestead  at  the  Highlands] 
Sam.'    (rreen  Jonathan   barritt  [between   Cpham   and  I'orter  Streets] 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  99 

And  seueral  othars  5-'  petision"^  with  Them :  doe  desier :  Abatement 
on  Ther  ministars  Reates :  bj-  Reson  as  the)-  sa}-  They  doe  Hue  more 
conuenant  To  Go  [to]  Reding-  meting  Then  To  maiden  meting : 

It  was  putt  To  vote  To  see  whethar  y^  Town  will  abate  Those  peti- 
tionars  The  one  half  of  There  ministars  Reates. 

And  it  past  in  y^  negitiue  : 

And  just  before  the  division  was  made  this  action  was 
taken: 

it  was  put  to  vote  whether  the  Town  will  have  two  meating  houses 
in  this  Town  and  y^  vote  was  past  in  ye  negetive.  it  was  put  to  vote 
whether  y^  Town  will  Alow  y^  people  in  ye  north  Eand  of  this  Town 
some  monej'  to  help  them  to  provid  themselve  with  preaching  in  y« 
winter  sesons  and  it  past  in  ye  negetive 

But  a  little  later,  May  22,  it  was  voted: 

that  ye  tenn  famelys  y^  ha\'e  petioned  to  be  Laid  off  from  this  Town, 
unto  ye  Town  of  Reding,  have  Liberty  to  goe  to  Reding  with  there 
Estates  Acording  to  their  petion. 

This  left  the  Greens  of  the  woods,  Barretts,  Uphams  and  others 
still  unaccommodated  and  with  rates  unabated;  and  yet  many 
years  were  they  necessitated  to  go  to  Maiden  centre  for  town 
and  church  privileges. 

The  Barretts.  All  the  Maiden  and  Melrose  Barretts 
descended  from  James  Barrett,  who  was  born  in  England  in 
i6i5,came  to  New  England  in  1635,  and  settled  in  Charles- 
town.  His  name  does  not  appear  among  those  who  were 
admitted  freemen;  but  the  Charlestown  Records  of  1643,  state 
that  "James  Barrett  was  admitted  Townsman  '  with  manifesta- 
tion y'  he  is  not  to  expect  an}-  allotm'  of  land.'  "  By  industry 
and  enterprise  he  accumulated  considerable  property;  and 
there  are  upon  record  many  conveyances  of  real  estate  to 
and  from  him.  In  a  deed  to  Peter  Tufts  in  1653  he  is  called 
*'  Plantor."  His  farm  was  in  Mystic  Side,  in  that  portion  of  it 
now  the  city  of  Exerett,  not  far  from  where  the  Flastern  Rail- 
road crosses  the  main  street  from  Maiden  to  Boston.  In  1656, 
he  was  chosen  Highway  Surveyor  in  Charlestown,  for  Mystic 
Side.  There  were  some  curious  law-suits  in  those  early  da^vs. 
James  Barrett  became  involved  in  two,  and  the  following 
account  of  the  same  is  found  in  the  County  Court  Records, 
\ol.  I,  pp.  149,  241.  Thc>'  show  the  somewhat  peculiar  and 
effecti\e   manner  in   which  justice  was  administered    in   those 


ot 


100  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

early  days,  and  the  method  of  paying  fines,  as  ordered  by  the 
Court,  in  the  products  as  well  as  the  currency  of  the  country. 
In  1657 

James  Barrett,  on  Lord's  day  turned  off  his  field  some  cattle  belong- 
ing to  George  Knower,  into  the  lane  or  road.  He  was  met  by  Knower, 
as  he  was  letting  down  the  bars,  who  struck  him  a  severe  blow  with  a 
stake.  Barrett,  in  self  defence,  drew  blood  on  Knower's  face.  It 
being  not  only  a  violation  of  the  law,  but  a  breach  of  the  Sabbath,  it 
therefore  became  a  matter  of  legal  animadversion. 

The  verdict  was  as  follows: 

George  Knower  being  convicted  of  Breach  of  the  Sabbath  and  also 
of  the  peace  of  the  Comon  Wealth  by  striking  James  Barrett  on  the 
Lord's  day  is  fined  by  this  Court  thirty  shillings  and  to  pay  cost  of 
Court.  James  Barrett  for  like  offence  by  him  committed  in  Striving 
with  and  fetching  blood  on  Knower  is  fined  twenty  shillings  and  to 
pay  costs  of  Court.  These  fines  to  be  P^'  in  corne  Porccouable  in  all 
mann""  graine  as  the  country  rate  at  y^  same  prises. 

The  other  was  a  case  of  slander,  brought  by  James  Barrett 
and  William  Luddington,  against  Mar>-  Tufts  of  Maiden,  in 
1660. 

It  appears  by  the  evidence,  that  Peter  Tufts  of  Maiden,  had  beaten 
and  abused  his  man  Henry  Swillaway,  who  went  to  Barrett  and  Lud- 
dington and  told  his  tale  and  cried.  They  being  kind  hearted  men 
sympathised  with  him.  This  case  was  brought  into  Court  they  appear- 
ing as  evidence  in  his  behalf.  That  led  Mary  Tufts,  wife  of  Peter,  in 
her  indignation  to  utter  the  following  words  —  Viz.  —  "That  none 
Spake  against  husband  at  the  court  but  the  Skines  of  the  Country, 
and  liars,  and  them  that  did  not  care  what  they  said."  P'or  the  utter- 
ance of  these  words  a  suit  of  Slander  was  instituted. 

In  the  Middlesex  Court  Records,  vol.  i,  p.  200,  is  recorded  this 
severe  and  mortifying  sentence: 

The  Jury  brought  in  their  verdict,  finding  for  the  Plaintif  damages 
ten  shillings  apeece,  &  an  acknowledgemt  to  be  made  by  the  deff'  at 
Mauldon  vpon  the  Lords  day  in  the  after  noone,  within  the  space  of 
thirty  dayes  next  ensueing,  and  to  be  made  after  the  publicke  exccise 
is  ended,  before  the  congregation  depart  in  mannr  following,  viz',  in 
these  words.  That  whereas  J  Mary  Tufts  am  legally  convicted  of 
slandering  &  wronging  James  Barrat  &  William  Luddington,  or  any 
other  whom  my  words  might  reflect  vpon,  by  speaking  Rashly,  irregu- 
larly, &  sinfully,  J  am  heartily  sorry,  ^r  doe  desire  to  be  humbled  for 
the  same,  &  in  case  of  non  observance  to  doe  as  above  is  prmised 
either  to   pay  ye  said   ten   shill.  apeece,   or   makeing   such   acknowl- 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  101 

edgem*  both  for  mann'  &  time:  the  Jury  do  find  that  ye  deft'  shall 
pay  vnto  ye  pts  fifty  shill  apeece,  &  costs  of  Court,  thirty  one  shill.  & 
two  pence. 

James  Barrett  died  in  1672.  His  son  James,  born  in  1644. 
settled  at  the  north  end  of  Boston,  near  Copp's  Hill,  and  his 
son  James,  born  in  1672,  came  into  possession  of  his  grand- 
father's farm  at  M\'stic  Side.  He  became  a  prominent  man 
in  Maiden,  serving  as  Selectman  for  several  years,  and  acting 
on  many  important  committees.  Among  his  possessions  was 
a  saw-mill  at  Spot  Pond.  The  Bi-Ccntennial  Book  of  Maiden, 
has  the  following  items  connected  with  this  James  Barrett: 

In  1 70S,  April  2,  Deacon  Greenland  has  liberty  to  build  a  pew. 
It  was  voted  at  that  time,  '"  That  if  janies  Baret  will  make  up  the 
twenty  aight  shillings,  which  the  town  is  in  detted  to  him  for  worke  at 
the  meting  house,  forty  shillings,  then  he  shall  have  as  conveneant  seat 
in  the  meting  hous  as  his  naberas  have."  Among  other  necessary 
appendages  of  an  old-fashioned  meeting-house  in  New  England  were 
the  horse-blocks  and  stables.  The  first  notice  we  find  of  these  in 
Maiden,  is  under  date  of  Dec.  9,  1698;  it  was  voted  "that  Trj-all 
Nubry,  Simon  Grovar,  Samuell  Bucknam,  william  pain,  james  Barrit, 
and  John  Greenland,  hath  the  priveleg  of  a  peece  of  land  of  24  foots 
long  and  9  foots  wide,  from  ye  South  west  corner  of  ye  parsonage 
garding  westwardly  along  by  }e  stone  wall.  Granted  them  by  a  town 
vote,  for  to  set  a  stable  to  shelter  their  horses  on  the  Sabath  days.'' 

Deacon  Jonathan  Barrett,  a  brother  of  James,  born  in  1678, 
was  also  a  Selectman  of  Maiden  for  many  years,  ser\-ed  on 
numerous  committees,  and  was  many  times  Moderator  of 
the  Town  Meetings.  These  two  brothers  took  opposite  sides 
in  the  long  and  bitter  contest  in  Maiden,  which  grew  out  of 
the  location  for  the  new  meeting-house,  which  was  final!}- 
settled  by  building  it  on  the  spot  where  now  stands  the 
Universalist  Church  of  Maiden.  Deacon  Barrett  came  to 
North  Maiden  about  the  year  1700,  and  his  farm  and  home- 
stead was  situated  on  the  "  East  Side;"  the  house  being  about 
half-way  between  Upham  and  Porter  Streets.  Its  site,  with  the 
stone  filled  cellar-hole,  still  exists.  It  is  on  the  highest  rise,  a 
little  way  to  the  west  of  School  Street;  and  the  newly  laid  out 
Lincoln  Street,  running  from  Porter  to  Upham,  now  only  par- 
tiall}-  built  from  Porter,  when  extended  through  to  Upham 
Street,  will  pass  directl>'  through  it;  thus  obliterating  all  traces 
of  the  original  Barrett  homestead.  In  17 14,  Mr.  Barrett  was 
one    of    the    petitioners   for  the  laying  out  of  Upham   Street. 


102  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Porter  Street  was  then  called   Barrett  Lane.     He  was  one  of 
the  Selectmen  of  Maiden  for  the  years  1725,  '26,  '31,  '36,  '37, 
'38,  '39,  '40,  and  '44.     He  died  in  1 749,  aged  seventy-two  years- 
He  made  an  interesting  will,     ^,^  ^^  /2 
a  portion  of  which  follows:           hC  tOlC/tjaM.   ^J^^^^^'^^"^^ 

In  the  name  of  God  Amen,  the  twenty  six  day  of  August  one 
thousand  seven  hundred  and  forty  nine  I  Jonathan  Barrett  of  Maiden 
County  of  Middlesex  in  the  Province  of  Mass's  Bay  in  New  England 
yeoman  being  very  sick  and  weak  in  Body  But  of  perfect  mind  and 
memory  thanks  be  given  to  God  for  it  therefore  calling  to  mind  the 
mortality  of  my  Body  and  Knowing  that  it  is  appointed  for  all  men 
once  to  die,  Do  make  and  ordain  this  my  Last  Will  and  Testament, 
that  is  to  say  Principally  and  first  of  all  I  give  and  Recomend  my  Soul 
into  the  hands  of  God  that  gave  it  and  my  Body  I  Recomend  to  the 
Earth  to  be  buried  in  a  decent  Christian  Burial  at  the  Discretion  of  mj' 
Execuf  nothing  doubting  but  at  the  General  Resureition  I  shall 
receive  the  same  again  hy  the  mighty  Power  of  God  and  as  Touching 
such  worldly  Estate  wherewith  it  hath  pleased  God  to  Bless  me  in  this 
Life  I  give  Demise  and  dispose  of  the  same  in  the  following  manner 
and  form. 

Item.  I  give  and  Bequeath  unto  Rebecca  my  Dearly  beloved  wife 
the  improvement  of  w\y  East  Lower  Room  of  my  Dwelling  house  and 
Chamber  over  the  same  and  one  third  part  of  the  cellar  during  her 
natural  Life,  with  free  Liberty  of  coming  at  the  same  as  occasion  shal 
call  for :  I  do  gi\'e  her  the  impro\-ement  of  one  third  part  of  my  house- 
hold goods  within  doors :  and  the  Improvement  of  two  of  my  best 
Cows  to  be  kept  for  her  Winters  and  Summers  yearly  and  every  year 
by  my  Executers  during  her  natural  Life  I  also  give  her  two  bushels 
of  Malt  two  barrels  cyder  three  bushels  of  Rye  nine  bushels  Indian 
Corn  ground  and  brought  into  her  house  the  cyder  and  grain  to  be 
provided  3'early  and  every  }'ear  seasonably  during  her  natural  Life  by 
my  Executors  I  also  give  to  her  six  cords  of  good  wood  to  be  cut  and 
split  and  brought  Seasonably  to  her  door  tit  for  her  fire  I  also  give 
her  five  bushels  of  Apples  two  bushels  Turnips  half  bushel  carrots  and 
half  bushel  of  white  beans  fourscore  pounds  Pork  and  seventy  pounds 
Beef  four  pounds  hackled  fiax  and  four  pounds  Sheeps  Wool  all  to  be 
provided  yearly  and  every  3-ear  by  my  Executors  during  her  natural 
Life  Also  Ten  pounds  Money  per  year  during  her  Life  Likewise 
that  she  shall  be  carried  to  meeting  when  she  is  able  and  desirous  to 
attend  the  same*'^  all  abo\'e  mentioned  to  be  performed  eaqualy  be- 

*'^  lu  several  of  the  wills  of  the  for    her    i^his    wife)  to    ride    ou    to 

inenibers  of  these  old  families,  the  meeting  as  she  may  have  occasion 

following  phrase  or  its  equivalent,  while  she  remains  a  widow." 
often  occurs:   "also  a  horse  suitable 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  103 

tween  my  two  Executors.  The  ten  pounds  money  above  mentioned  is 
to  be  understood  in  the  old  Tenor.  .  .  .  Item  I  give  and  bequeath 
unto  my  beloved  son  Joseph  Barrett  whom  I  Likewise  constitute  make 
and  ordain  my  Executor  of  this  my  last  will  and  Testament  two  thirds 
of  my  Mansion  House  that  is  the  Remaininsj-  part  of  it  that  I  have  not 
given  to  my  \\\it  together  with  the  Remainder  of  my  Buildings.  I 
also  give  him  all  the  Remainder  of  my  lands  that  I  have  not  given  to 
my  son  James  abo\-e  mentioned  b}-  him  to  be  freely  possesed  and  en- 
joyed and  to  be  at  his  disposal  forever.  ...  As  for  my  Negro  Isrial 
my  Will  is  that  he  shall  serve  my  son  Joseph  Barrett  faithfully  Six 
}-ears  and  after  that  term  of  time  is  expired  he  shall  be  free  and  that 
my  Son  Joseph  shall  give  Bond  that  he  be  not  a  Town  charge.-*-^ 

As  is  seen  by  this  will,  Jonathan's  son  Joseph  came  into 
possession  of  the  old  homestead  and  its  farm.  At  this  time 
slavery  existed  in  Massachusetts,  and  Joseph  Barrett  became 
the  possessor  of  two  slaves;  one  by  inheritance  by  his  father's 
will,  and  the  other  through  the  action  of  the  town  of  Maiden, 
as  is  seen  by  the  following;  from  the  Maldoi  Records: 

Maiden  Feb';  the  yt'i  1755,  be  it  known  that  ^^'hereas  the  selectmen 
of  said  town  have  put  a  mulatto  child  that  has  been  latly  laid  at  the 
dore  of  ann  welcome  to  me  Joseph  Barrett  of  said  town  giving  me 
fifty  two  pounds  ten  shillings  old  tenor  with  said  child  I  the  said 
Joseph  Barrett  do  promis  for  me  and  my  heirs  to  indemnify  and  clear 
the  said  town  from  any  charge  that  may  arise  upon  the  account  of  said 
child  so  long  as  it  maybe  made  a  slave  to  me  my  heirs  or  to  them  that 
I  or  my  heirs  shall  assign  said  child  too. 

in  witness  whereof  I  have  hereunto  put  \\\\  hand 

Joseph  Barrett. 

In  connection  with  this  transaction  the  town  passed  this 
vote  two  }'ears  later: 

1757.  :May  i6th  \'oted.  That  the  town  doe  alow  to  An  \^'ellcom  ten 
pounds  old  tenor  to  be  laid  out  in  repairing  her  Shatterd  habitation 
and  that  on  the  account  of  her  nursing  a  child  eight  weeks  that  was 
laid  at  the  dore  of  her  house,  i  737,  June  6,  Voted,  that  the  selectmen 
shall  take  care  that  said  money  be  laid  out  for  that  puipose. 

This  Ann  Welcome  was  a  nei^ress,  whose  little  cabin  thus 
repaired,  stood  under  the  side  of  the  hill  on  the  northerly  side 
of  Salem  Street,  Maiden,  near  the  line  between  Maiden  and 
Revere,  at  the  point  known  as  "  Black  Ann's  Corner." 

The  slave   Israel,  which   he   inherited,  was  to  serve  him   six 

*'   Probate  Records,  Cambridge,  Book  26,  p.  3. 


104  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

years.     Wishing  to  learn  a  trade  he  was  bound  out  to  Joseph's 
brother,  Jacob,  by  the  following  instrument: 

This  Indenture  witnesseth  that  whereas  Deacon  Jona.  Barrit,  late 
of  Maiden,  deceased  ordered  in  his  last  will  and  Testament  yt  his 
Negroman  Survent  Isrial  should  serve  his  son,  Joseph  Barrit  faithfully 
for  ye  space  of  six  years  after  ye  decease  of  ye  above  sd  Testator,  of 
which  time  there  being  Two  years  Past  the  sd  Negro  being  desirous  of 
Larning  \(t  Trade  and  art  of  a  Cooper  which  his  sd  master.  Joseph 
Barritt  complied  with  and  b}'  these  Presents  Puts  and  Binds  the  above 
sd  Negroman  a  Prentice  unto  Jacob  Barritt  of  the  town  of  Lancaster 
in  the  County  of  Worcester  and  Pro\ince  of  Massachusetts  Bay  in 
New  England  Miller  and  the  sd  apprentice  to  serve  him  and  wife  from 
5'e  Day  of  ye  Date  hereof  for  and  during  the  full  term  of  fore  years 
next  during  all  which  time  ye  sd  apprentice  his  sd  master  and  mistress 
faithfully  shall  serve,  there  secrets  keep,  their  lawful  commands  gladly 
everj'where  obey.  He  shall  do  no  damage  to  his  sd  master  nor  his 
mistress  nor  see  it  to  be  done  by  others  without  Letting  or  giving  notice 
thereof  to  his  sd  master  or  mistress  Goods  or  Lend  them  unlawfulh-  to 
any  one,  he  shall  not  Commit  Fornication  nor  contract  matrimony 
within  sd  term.  At  Cards  or  Dice  or  any  other  unlawful  Game  he 
shall  not  play,  whereby  his  said  master  or  mistress  may  be  damaged, 
with  his  own  Goods  nor  the  goods  of  others  he  shall  not  absent  himself 
Day  or  Night  from  his  masters  or  mistress  services  without  their  Leave 
nor  haunt  ale-houses  taverns  or  pla}-  houses.  But  in  all  things  behave 
himself  as  a  faithful  Apprentice  ought  to  do  during  said  term.  And 
the  sd  master  and  mistress  shall  use  ye  utmost  of  their  Endeavors  to 
teach  and  instruct  the  said  apprentice  in  the  trade  and  mj'ster}-  of  a 
Cooper  and  procure  and  provide  for  him  sulificient  meat  drink  apparel 
washing  and  loging  fitting  for  an  apprentice  during  ye  sd  term  and  at 
the  expiration  of  3'e  sd  Term  return  ye  sd  Apprentice  as  well  clothed 
as  at  present  to  yt  above  sd  master  Joseph  or  his  heirs  who  shall  by 
these  presents  be  obliged  to  receive  the  sd  apprentice  and  clear  the  sd 
Jacob  Barrit  and  his  Heirs  from  all  charges  yt  may  arise  after  his  time 
is  out  with  him  and  for  the  true  performance  of  every  part  of  the  sd 
covenants  and  agreements,  either  of  ye  Parties  Bind  themselves  to  the 
other  by  these  presents  in  witness  whereof  they  have  Interchangeably 
put  their  hands  and  seals  this  seventh  day  of  September  Anno  Domini 
one  Thousand  seven  Hundred  and  tifty-one  and  in  the  Twenty-fifth 
year  of  his  Majesties  Reign. 

Joseph  Barrett. 

Eren  H.vrnden.  Jacob  Barrett. 

Samuel  Spraoue. 

Joseph  Barrett  died  in  1 758.  His  son  Joseph,  after  becom- 
ing of  age,  bought  the  (del  homestead,  built  by  his  grandfather, 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  105 

Jonathan,  of  the  other  heirs.  In  1781,  he  bout^dit  an  adjoining 
estate  of  John  Gould,  which  was  situated  on  the  north  side 
of  Porter  Street,  then  Barrett  Lane.  The  old  Gould  house  was 
enlarged  and  improved  by  Joseph  Barrett,  and  it  beeame  his 
homestead  in  which  he  passed  the  rest  of  his  days.  This  was 
the  estate  long  occupied  by  the  late  Charles  Porter,  and  now 
owned  by  Albert  M.  Smith.  An  uncle  of  this  Joseph, 
James  Barrett,  owned  a  farm  which  joined  the  homestead  farm 
of  Joseph,  on  the  east  and  north  side  of  Porter  Street.  He 
sold  to  James  Nichols,  and  the  house  was  burned  a  few  years 
ago.  It  occupied  the  spot  where  now  stands  the  fine  residence 
of  Eugene  H.  INIoore,  known  as  "  The  Moorelands."  At  the 
death  of  Joseph  his  landed  property  consisted  of  his  home- 
stead, with  thirty-one  acres,  the  old  Jonathan  Barrett  home- 
stead lot  of  twenty-one  acres,  the  Pine  Hill  lot  of  fourteen 
acres,  and  a  few  other  small  lots.  Among  his  papers  was 
found  the  following,  which  shows  that  he  furnished  a  man  for 
the  Revolution,  but  probabl}'  did  not  himself  enlist. 

Cambridge,  Augt.  17.  1781. 
Reel  of  M''.  Joseph  Barrett  the  sum  of  Twelve  Pounds  Solid  Coine 
in   full   for  all  Accompts,  Debts   Dues   and   Demands   Against   M"". 
Joseph  Lyonds  or  M''.  Joseph  Barretts  Class  for  Procuring  a  man  for 
three  years'  service  in  the  Army. 

Rec^  by  me,  Benj.  Perkins. 

Joseph  brought  up  a  large  family  of  children  on  this  Barrett 
Lane  homestead.  The  oldest  son  was  Captain  Jonathan  Barrett, 
who  was  born  in  1775,  and  who  made  his  home  in  the  western 
part  of  the  town,  on  a  farm  that  came  into  his  possession  in 
the  following  manner:  It  1699,  John  Sprague  sold  the  west 
part  of  his  farm  to  Deacon  John  Pratt.  It  contained  eighty 
acres.  The  house  had  been  built  many  years  and  was  the  one 
his  grandfather  bought  of  his  brother  Richard  in  1652.  It 
was  situated  on  the  south  side  of  what  is  known  as  Barrett 
Mount,  about  twenty  rods  west  of  the  corner  of  Vinton  and 
Booster  Streets.  Maple  Street  passes  near  the  site  of  this  old 
homestead,  which  was  visible  until  within  a  few  }'ears.  After 
the  death  of  John  Pratt,  in  1742,  the  property  came  into  the 
possession  of  Isaac  Green,  who  married  Mary,  the  daughter  of 
Pratt.  Tradition  sa}'s  that  Green  demolished  the  old  Sprague 
house,  which  had  stood  a  hundred  years  or  more,  and  used  the 
materials   in  building  what  came  to  be  kiK^wn   as   the  "  Moun- 


106  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

tain  House,"  corner  of  Vinton  and  Maple  Streets,  recently 
removed.  The  farm  and  new  homestead  then  became  the 
property  of  Benoni  Vinton,  who  married  Mary,  the  daughter 
of  Isaac  Green.  .She  afterwards  married  Joseph  Lynde,  and 
when  a  widow  sold  this  estate  to  Captain  Jonathan  Barrett,  in 
1806.  The  homestead  was  then  enlarged,  and  became  one  of 
the  finest  residences  in  the  north  part  of  Maiden.  It  was 
around  and  near  this  house  that  was  situated  what  used  to  be 
known,  eighty  or  ninety  years  ago,  as  "  the  village;"  and  here, 
from  different  parts  of  the  sparsely  settled  portion  of  the 
town,  would  congregate  the  people,  for  games,  social  chat  and 
amusements.  The  nearest  house  to  "  the  village,"  other  than 
the  two  Sprague  houses,  on  Foster  Street,  was  that  of  John 
Larrabee,  the  great-grandfather  of  the  present  John  Larrabee, 
who  for  twenty-one  years  was  our  efficient  Town  Clerk,  after- 
wards one  of  the  Sewer  Commissioners,  City  Treasurer  in 
1900,  and  Ma}-or  in  1901-2.  The  Larrabee  farm  consisted 
of  twent\-six  acres,  and  was  bought  of  the  heirs  of  Benoni 
Vinton,  in  1805.  It  extended  to  Youle  Street  on  the  north, 
and  was  bounded  b}^  Vinton  Street  on  the  east.  He  built 
his  homestead  on  the  corner  of  Vinton  and  Otis  Streets,  which 
is  still  standing,  and  belongs  to  the  heirs  of  the  late  Smith  W. 
Nichols. 

In  an  L  adjoining  his  homestead,  Captain  Barrett,  for  many 
years,  carried  on  the  shoe  manufacturing  business;  being  the 
first  and  only  one  at  that  time  in  this  part  of  the  town,  and 
which  he  continued  until  his  death  in  1821.  The  following- 
extract  from  a  printed 

Scniion  Dclh'crcd  in  Mahlcii,  Xorc/ulwr  2j//i,  1821.  llic  Lord's  Day 
After  the  Interment  of  Capt.  Jonathan  Barrett,  Who  Died  Novcnibr 
l8th,  ^-Et.  46.  By  Aaron  Green,  A.  J/.  Pastor  of  the  Congregational 
Society  in  said  Town.  Alas !  my  brethren,  Capt.  Barrett  is  no  more. 
.  .  .  Yes,  my  friends,  he  is  gone,  and  for  him,  ever}-  person  of  benevo- 
lence and  affection,  patience  and  resignation,  candor  and  humanit)-, 
charity  and  love,  will  go  mourning  about  the  streets,  for  in  him  they 
have  lost  a  brother.  Gone  is  the  useful  citizen,  the  affectionate  hus- 
band, the  tender  parent,  the  generous  friend.  Deaf  is  the  ear,  that 
listened  with  delight  to  the  voice  of  truth  :  Cold  is  the  heart  that 
throbbed  with  s}-mpath}- :  Closedt  he  e}e  that  sparkled  with  joy ;  the 
pulse,  that  beat  so  often  now  beats  no  more.  •'  Kest  then,  ye  pre- 
cious relic,  within  thy  hospitable  gloom.  Rest  in  gentle  slumbers,  till 
the   last   trumpet  shall   give   the   welcome   signal,  and   sound   aloud 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  107 

throug-h  all  the  silent   mansions,   with   this   joyful   call   Arise,  shine, 
for  thy  light  is  come,  and  the  glory  of  the  Lord  is  risen  upon  thee.  " 

Mr.  Barrett  was  commissioned  Captain  of  a  Company  in  the 
First  Regiment,  First  Brigade,  Third  Division,  Massachusetts 
Militia,  bj^  Gov.  Caleb  Strong,  March  28th,  1805. 

The  shoe  manufacturing  business  established  by  Capt.  Bar- 
rett, was  afterwards  carried  on  by  the  late  George  Emerson, 
and  later  by  others;  and,  until  within  a  few  years,  has  been  one 
of  the  few  manufacturing  businesses  that  have  existed  in  Mel- 
rose. 

In  this  old  "Mountain  House"  of  Capt.  Barrett,  was  born  a 
large  family  of  children;  among  them,  May  25,  1818,  the  late 
Artemas  Barrett,  to  whom  this  history  is  indebted  for  man}-  of 
its  genealogical  items  connected  with  its  old  families.  He  died 
Jan.  12,  1897,  being  nearly  seventy-nine  years  of  age.  He  was 
a  highly  respected  and  honored  citizen.  He  held  many  town 
ofifices,  and  was  a  Representative  to  the  General  Court  in  1861. 

At  the  death  of  Capt.  Jonathan  Barrett,  the  estate  passed 
into  the  hands  of  his  widow,  Mrs.  Fann>'  Barrett,  who  bought 
out  the  heirs,  with  the  exception  of  her  two  minor  sons,  James 
and  Artemas.  In  1845,  s^"*^  conve>^ed  the  land  in  front  of  her 
house  to  these  two  sons,  who,  in  the  same  >'ear,  conveyed  the 
farm  portion  to  Jeremiah  Martin,  for  SiO,000,  who  established, 
and  for  many  years  carried  on  an  extensi\e  nursery  business, 
on  a  portion  of  it,  the  balance  being  laid  out  in  house  lots, 
and  dwellings  built  thereon.  These  nursery  grounds  were 
sold,  after  the  death  of  Mr.  Martin,  and  are  now  covered 
with  many  streets  and  residences.  The  old  mansion  house 
remained  in  possession  of  Mrs.  Barrett  until  her  death,  in 
1874.  It  has  since  been  sold,  removed  to  the  corner  of  Tappan 
and  Sanford  Streets,  and  become  a  tenement  house. 

We  still  have  many  representatives  of  the  Barrett  family 
among  our  citizens.  Hon.  William  Emerson  Barrett,  son  of 
Augustus,  w'ho  was  son  of  Peter,  brother  of  Capt.  Jonathan 
Barrett,  was  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature  for  six 
}'ears,  1888-1892,  five  of  which  he  was  Speaker  of  the  House 
of  Representatives;  and  he  was  Representative  for  the  Seventh 
District  in  the  54th  and  55th  Congresses  of  the  United  States. 

The  Uphams.  The  name  of  Upham  is  an  ancient  one.  It 
was  one  of  the  first  to  be  used  as  a  surname,  being  found  in  the 
English  Charter  Rolls —  which  were  "  registers  of  ro\'al  u'rants  of 


108  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

lands,  honors,  dignities,  hereditary  offices,  liberties,"  etc.  —  as 
early  as  1208.  It  came  from  an  estate  that  bore  that  name,  such 
a  place  being  mentioned  in  the  Domesday  Book,  as  belonging  to 
the  time  of  Edward  the  Confessor  (1042-1066);  and  there  are 
places  in  England  today  bearing  that  name,  and  in  one  of 
them,  situated  sixty-five  miles  from  London,  was  born  Edward 
Young,  the  author  of  NigJit  Thoughts.  The  name  Upham  was 
probably  formed  by  uniting  the  Anglo  Saxon  words  up,  high, 
and  ham,  a  home,  dwelling  or  hamlet,  meaning  thus:  "the 
Home  on  the  Hill."^-' 

John  Upham,  the  progenitor  of  all  that  bear  his  name  in 
America,  was  born  in  Bicton  Parish,  on  the  River  Otter,  in  1597, 
and  came  to  this  country  in  1635.  He  first  settled  in  Wey- 
mouth, which  town  he  represented  several  times  in  the  General 
Court.  In  1642,  he  was  appointed  one  of  the  Commissioners 
to  treat  with  the  Indians  in  obtaining  a  title  to  the  We>miouth 
territory.  He  removed  to  Maiden  in  1648,  where  he  became 
one  of  its  leading  citizens.  As  early  as  165 1  he  was  one  of  the 
Selectmen,  an  office  he  held  several  years.  He  was  several 
times  appointed  Commissioner  "  to  settle  the  lesser  legal 
matters  of  Weymouth  and  Maiden."  He  was  also  deacon  of 
the  Church  for  twenty-four  years.  The  following  is  the  in- 
scription on  his  tombstone,  which  is  near  the  centre  of  the  old 
Bell  Rock  Cemetery  in  Maiden:   ^ 

Here  lyes  y^  Body  of  John  Upham  ^O  C^TV  ^PJ^^I*^ 
aged  84  3"f     Died  Febo' 25,  1681.  ^-^^       0  ^""^""^ 

His  son,  Lieut.  Phineas  Upham,  born  in  1635,  soon  after  his 
parents'  arri\al  in  America, ■^'^  was  an  acti\'e  officer  in  King 
Philip's  War.  The  headquarters  of  our  troops  in  the  Con- 
necticut Valley,  during  this  war,  at  this  time,  was  at  Hadley. 
Major  Pynchon,  not  feeling  equal  to  the  task  of  commanding 
longer,  resigned.  Captain  Samuel  Appleton  was  appointed  by 
the  General  Court  to  take  his  place,  and  Lieut.  Upham  of  Mai- 
den was  selected  to  bear  through  the  intervening  wilderness 
the  necessary  dispatches.      Following  is  the  order: 

■*■'  Mrs.  Mary  Upham  Kelley  and  peace  and    thankfulness  which  fol- 

A\'arren    Upham,    in     Upham    and  lowed  the  safe  arrival  in  America, 

Amherst,  A\  H.,  6.  and  so  have  been  given  to  the  first 

^®  "  It  has  also  been  suggested  that  born  in  the  New  World."  Frank  K. 

the    scriptural    significance  of   the  Upham,    The   Descendants   of  John 

name  Phinehas  'the  peace  of  God,'  Upham  of  Massachusetts,  47. 
may  have  indicated  the  feelings  of 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  109 

■5"/-  Wee  have  ordered  Lt  Uphain  to  lead  up  to  you  30  men  and  do 
further  order  that  Lt  Scill  be  dismissed  home  to  his  family,  and  his 
souldjers  to  make  up  some  of  y«  companies  as  yt  chief e  Commander 
shall  order  and  ye  above  named  Lt  Upham  to  be  Lt  under  Capt 
Wayte,     These  for  Major  John  Pynchon. 

This  was  dated  Sept.  4,  1675.  He  arrived  at  his  destination 
on  the  I2th,and  from  that  time  was  in  active  service,  conduct- 
ing many  scouting  parties  and  expeditions.  At  the  battle  of 
the  Narraganset  Fort,  Dec.  19,  1675,  ^vhen  one  thousand  Indian 
warriors  were  slain  or  wounded,  and  eighty-six  English  killed 
and  one  hundred  and  fifty  wounded,  Lieut.  Upham  was  severely 
wounded.  Of  this  sanguinary  fight  the  historian,  Hubbard, 
says : 

It  is  hard  to  say  who  acquitted  themselves  best  in  that  day's  service 
either  the  soldiers  for  their  manlike  valour  in  fighting,  or  the  Com- 
manders for  their  wisdom  and  courage  ;  leading  on  in  the  very  Face  of 
Death. 

After  lingering  some  ten  months  from  the  effects  of  this 
wound,  Lieut.  Upham  died,  in  October,  1676,  at  the  age  of  41 
years.  He  was  highly  respected  as  a  citizen,  and  was  eminent 
in  the  military  service.     The  Upliavi  Genealogy  says  of  him: 

In  battle  Lieutenant  Upham  exhibited  the  character  of  a  brave  man 
and  patriot,  purchasing  with  mortal  wounds  the  palm  of  victory ;  and 
the  government  was  not  unmindful  of  his  great  sacrifice  but  bore 
testimony  upon  the  records 
"to  the  long  and  good  ser- 
vices he  did  to  the  country,  /If^J^^t:^"^^^  /  K:)p^CUK' 
and  the  great  loss  sustained 
by  his  friends  in  his  death." 

In  the  Archives  at  the  State  House  are  several  documents 
signed  by  Lieut.  Upham;  and  in  the  records  of  the  fall  term 
of  the  General  Court  for  the  same  year,  1676,  is  found  the  fol- 
lowing entry: 

In  answer  to  the  petition  of  Ruth  Upham,  widow  and  relict  of  the 
late  Lieut.  Phineas  Upham,  the  Court  judgeth  it  meet  to  order  that 
the  bills  of  charge  to  chirurgeons,  doctors  and  diet,  &c.,  mentioned  in 
the  said  petition,  be  payed  by  the  treasurer  of  the  county;  and  in 
consideration  of  the  long  and  good  services  her  husband  did  for  the 
country,  and  the  great  loss  the  widow  sustains  b}-  his  death,  being  left 
with  seven  small  children,  and  not  able  to  carry  on  their  affairs,  for  the 
support  of  herself  and  family,  do  further  order  the  treasurer  of  the 
county  to  pay  unto  the  said  widow  ten  pounds  in,  or  as  money. 


/iQ£^-n<?^^?  /%no^c 


110 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


One  of  these  "seven  small  children,"  Phineas,  the  eldest 
son,  became  a  prominent  citizen  of  Maiden,  For  fourteen 
years  he  was  one  of  the  Selectmen;  Town  Treasurer  for  several 
years;  deacon  of  the  Church;  several  times  Moderator  of  the 
Town  Meeting;  and  for  five  years  Representative  to  the  Gen- 
eral Court.     He  died   in 

October,  1720,  at  the  age      y^""^'^^:^  /^    ,  P 

of    62    years,    and    was  {^y^oHd'-n:^  -XJOi^yWO 
buried    in    the    cemetery     '/ 
at  Maiden. 

It  was  his  oldest  son,  born  June  10,  1682,  and  bearing  the 
same  name,  Phineas,  a  favorite  one  with  the  Uphams,  who 
came  to  Melrose,  then  North  Maiden,  and  settled  on  Upham 
Hill,  in  the  year  1703.  At  the  same  time  it  is  recorded,  that 
"Phineas  Upham  and  Tamzen  Hill  were  joined  in  marriage, 
y^  23d  of  November,  1703,  by  M''  Wigglesworth; "  and  from 
them  ha\e  descended  all  of  the  many  Melrose  Uphams,  and 
many  others  who  have  gone  to  other  parts  of  the  land,  some 
of  whom  have  become  eminent  as  lawyers,  ministers,  authors, 
and  statesmen. 

Very  soon  after  his  marriage  he  built  his  homestead,  and 
established  his  home  "  in  their  primitive  dwelling  on  the 
wooded  crest  of  Upham  Hill." 

This  was  situated  on  what  is  now  the  corner  of  Upham  and 
Highland  Streets,  where  it  remained  until  within  a  very  few 
years,  when  it  was  removed  a  few  rods  south  and  now  stands 
on  Waverly  Avenue.  Some  years  ago  it  was  enlarged  and 
improved.  While  it  stood  on  Upham  Street,  our  present  Chief 
Engineer  of  the  Fire  Department,  A.  Wilbur  Lynde,  made  his 
home  therein  for  a  number  of  years,  tilling  his  farm  thereto 
belonging. 

Here  Phineas  and  Tamzen  Upham  li\ed,  and  brought  up  a 
large  family  of  sex'en  sons  and  six  daughters. 

One  of  his  sons,  Jabez,  became  a  doctor  and  settled  in  Brook- 
field,  Massachusetts;  and  concerning  him  occurs  the  following- 
sentence  in  his  father's  will. 

And  the  reason  \vh}-  I  give  my  son  Jabez  l^pham  no  more  in  this 
my  last  will,  is  because  I  have  given  him  to  the  value  of  a  hundred 
pounds  in  bringing  him  up  to  the  art  of  a  Doctor  or  Ph3'sician. 

Phineas  was  one  of  the  Selectmen  of  Maiden  for  several 
years;  two  years  Assessor,  and   many  years   iModerator  of  the 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


Ill 


Town  Meetings.  In  the  }'eai'  1707-8  he  is  mentioned  as  Ensign 
Phineas  Upham.  He  died  in  1766,  at  the  age  of  eighty-three 
years.     His  wife  died  two  years  later,  at  the  same  age. 

Of  the  personal  appearance  of  this  Phineas,  we  have  the  fol- 
lowing description  in  Notices  of  the  Life  of  JoJui  Upham,  the  first 
inJiabitant  of  Nciv  England  who  bore  that  uavu\  b>'  Dr.  Albert  G. 
Upham,  published  in  1845: 

Mr.  John  Edmonds,  of  Maiden,  an  old  soldier,  now  89  years  of  age, 
informs  me  that  when  a  boy  he  often  saw  Phineas  Upham.  He  states 
that  he  was  of  the  medium  height,  his  hair  abundant,  but  of  a  pure 
white,  and  his  costume  that  of  his  times,  viz.,  —  breeches,  cocked  hat, 
etc.  He  used  to  walk  about  the  village  with  the  assistance  of  an  ivory- 
headed  cane,  and  he  had  a  favorite  seat  beneath  a  wide-spreading 
tree,  where  he  was  often  seen  reposing. 


THK  OLD  AMOS  UPHAM  HOUSE. 

The  oldest  son  of  Phineas,  born  Jan.  14,  1708,  was  also 
named  Phineas.  He  died  in  Maiden,  July  17,  1 738,  of  the 
malignant  throat  distemper  which  prevailed  in  that  year. 
Amos,  another  son  of  Phineas,  born  in  1718,  succeeded  to  a 
portion  of  his  father's  acres  and  the  old  homestead  still  stand- 
ing; and,  in  turn,  his  son,  also  named  Amos,  born  in  1741,  came 
into  possession.  This  Amos  and  his  brother  William,  were  in 
Capt.  Benjamin  Blaney's  Company,  which  marched  to  Water- 
town  "upon  tne  alarm  on  the  19^'^  of  April,  1775,  and  from 
thence  to  resist  the  minesteral  troops." 


112  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

It  cannot  be  stated  just  when  this  old  house  was  built,  but 
evidently  soon  after  the  Phineas  Upham  house  of  1703.  Con- 
cerning this  house,  Miss  Mary  Elizabeth  Upham,  a  direct 
descendant  in  the  ninth  generation,  wrote  the  following  de- 
scription in  1890,  for  the  Uphavi  Genealogy ;  The  Descendants  of 
JoJin  Upham  of  Massachusetts  : 

The  original  house  must  have  been  quite  small.  A  family  tradition 
has  taught  us  that  it  little  more  than  covered  the  present  cellar,  which 
extends  under  less  than  half  the  building.  A  huge  chimney — with  a 
fireplace  ten  feet  long,  and  as  high  as  the  main  room  of  the  dwelling — 
rivaled  the  house  itself  in  size. 

But  it  was  not  long  before  the  family  outgrew  its  narrow  quarters. 
Then  was  the  first  building  supplemented  by  such  additions  that  it 
came  to  be  a  large,  substantial  dwelling,  thirty  feet  in  length,  and  two 
stories  high  toward  the  south.  On  the  north  the  roof  sloped  nearly  to 
the  ground.  Later  still  (and  yet  so  long  ago  that  no  one  now  living 
remembers  it)  the  slopnig  roof  was  raised,  so  that  the  house  is  nearly 
two  stories  high  on  the  north,  today.  In  the  old  garret  the  original 
sloping  rafters  may  yet  be  seen.^" 

The  front  door  of  the  house  is  away  from  the  street  on  the  south 
side.  Crossing  its  smooth  door-stone  we  enter  a  small  passage-way 
from  which  a  few  stairs,  with  two-square  landings,  lead  to  the  upper 
fioor.  At  the  right  a  low  door-way  admits  us  to  a  large  room,  eighteen 
feet  square,  presumably  the  '•  best  room  ""  of  the  house.  Its  low  wain- 
scot, and  high  mantel,  the  broad  beams  across  the  ceiling — but  a  short 
distance  above  our  heads  —  and  the  long  hearth  of  the  primative  fire- 
place— all  point  to  the  age  of  the  structure. 

On  the  left  of  the  front  entry  is  another  room,  much  like  the  first. 
The  center  of  the  house  is  occupied  by  the  huge  chimney,  and  on  the 
north  are   the   smaller   rooms.     The  oak   beams    are    in    many  cases 

^'   From  an   examiuation   of  the  sloping  roof  was  raised  so  that  the 

huge  chimney,  directly  in  the  cen-  house  is  nearly  two  stories  high  on 

tre  of  the  house,  and  from  the  fact  the  north."     Be  that  as  it  may,  it 

that  "  in  the  old  garret  the  original  is  a  most  interesting  old  mansion, 

sloping   rafters  may  yet  be  seen,"  and  presents  the  nearest  approach 

and  that  these  are  in  both  parts  of  to  the   original  appearance  of  any 

the  house,  and  that  the  large  beams  of  the  houses  of  our  original  settlers, 

over  head  are  in  both  rooms  to  the  unles  an  exception  is  made  in  the 

right  and  left  of  the  chimney,  and  Howard   House   at   the    corner    of 

from  the  position  of  the  front  door  Lebanon  and  Porter  streets,  which, 

directly  in  the  centre,  I  am  led  to  although  not  quite  as  old,  does  not 

believe  that  the  original  house  was  seem   to   have    had    any   additions 

the   same   size   as   it   now  appears,  whatever  since  the  day  it  was  built, 

and  that  the  enlargement  was  made.  The  Howard  house  was   destroyed 

as  Miss  Upham  states,  when  "  the  in  the  latter  part  of  the  year  1900. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


113 


eighteen  inches  thick ;  and  the  walls  are  filled  in  with  bricks  and  clay. 
The  chimney  is  made  of  bricks  of  many  sizes,  and  clay  instead  of 
mortar  is  used.  The  fire-places  have  been  made  smaller  within  a 
century,  but  the  original  hearths  —  in  some  of  which  square  tiles  are 
placed — are  still  left. 

The  occupants  of  this  house  through  the  various  succeeding  genera- 
tions have  all  been  tillers  of  the  soil,  though  several  have  combined 
with  this  mechanical  trades,  as  a  supplementary  occupation.  Its  pres- 
ent owner  and  occupant  still  carries  on  the  farm,  though  but  few  of  the 
oriofinal  acres  remain. 


INTERIOR  OF  THE  AMOS  UPHAM  HOUSE.** 

Amos'  son  Asa,  born  April  29,  1785,  was  the  successor  in  the 
ownership  of   this  old  ancestral   homestead;    and   here,  under 


■**  This  is  a  view  of  a  portion  of 
the  south-east  room,  with  its  large 
oaken  beams  crossing  the  ceiling. 
Herein  are  grouped  some  of  the 
many  interesting  heir-looms,  still 
remaining  in  this  old  Upham  home- 
stead. Some  of  these  two  hundred 
years  of  age  or  more.  The  fire- 
place—  formerly  much  larger  than 
now,  occupying,  with  an  oven  by  its 
side,  nearly  the  whole  of  the  side  of 
the  room  —  with  its  crane,  hooks, 
andirons,  shovel,  tongs  and  bellows; 


the  two  old  chairs,  one  a  Winsor; 
on  the  mantel-piece,  candle-sticks, 
an  old  "  Black  Jug  "  two  hundred 
years  of  age,  and  a  pitcher  of  the 
"willow-ware"  pattern;  on  the 
table  a  needle-worked  picture,  old 
cup  and  saucer,  old  school  books,  a 
wooden  quart  water-bottle  —  it  is 
surmised  that  this  has  had  some- 
thing in  it  stronger  than  water  ! — 
an  old  English  cup,  and  an  Indian 
stone-hatchet,  plowed  up  ou  this 
farm. 


114  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

this  same  roof-tree,  he  passed  a  long  h'fe,  dyiniT  in  1S69,  at  the 
age  of  eighty-four  years. 

He  could  well  remember  when  Maiden  had  but  one  church,  where 
all  the  town  could  worship  God,  and  when  that  part  now  Melrose  had 
but  one  small,  rough  schoolhouse,  with  its  rough  seats  and  large  open 
tireplace  and  the  school  kept  only  two  months  in  the  year,  the  tow-n 
very  sparsely  settled,  with  its  narrow,  rough  and  crooked  pathway-, 
travelled  only  on  foot  or  horseback.  .  .  .  Mr.  Upham  was  blest  with  a 
competence  of  this  world's  goods,  but  with  what  was  far  better,  good 
health  from  the  cradle  almost  to  the  grave.  And  what  was  still  better, 
he  has  during  his  long  life,  travelled  in  the  pathway  of  virtue  and 
uprightness,  and  has  gone  down  in  his  ripe  old  age  to  his  final  resting- 
place  with  an  unblemished  reputation,  honored  and  respected  by  all 
who  knew  him. 

And  in  this  homestead  a  large  family  of  children,  of  the 
eighth  generation,  was  born;  among  them  the  late  Eri,  Asa, 
Orne  and  Benjamin  R.  Upham.  Orne,  born  Sept.  25,  1820, 
succeeded  his  father  as  owner  of  the  farm,  whereon  he  spent  a 
long,  quiet,  unostentatious  life  as  a  farmer,  dying  April  2,  1894, 
aged  seventy-four  years;  and  here  m  the  old  mansion,  still 
lives  the  family  of  Orne,  his  wadow,  Mary  E.,  being  the  present 
owner;  with  her  live  her  two  daughters,  Esther  Norris  and 
Mary  Elizabeth,  they  being  of  the  ninth  generation  —  the  latter 
of  whom  wrote  the  description  of  the  old  Amos  Upham 
house,  quoted  in  the  preceding  pages. 

Eri  Upham  and  Asa  Upham,  brothers,  born  respectivel\' 
Sept.  7,  1813,  and  March  31,  1816,  lived  on  Upham  Street,  near 
the  old  homestead,  where  they  passed  long  li\'es;  Eri  dying 
July  2,  1897,  at  the  age  of  84  years,  and  Asa,  Dec.  15,  1899, 
aged  83  years. 

Another  brother,  Jienjamin  R.,  born  April  5,  1823,  lived  for 
many  years  in  the  old  Emerson  mansion,  on  the  corner  of  Main 
and  Emerson  Streets,  where  his  widow,  Rachel  E.,  still  lives. 
He  died  Nov.  30,  1892,  at  the  age  of  seventy  years.  His  son 
Frank  Richardson,  born  Dec.  18,  1852,  is  at  present  Chairman 
of  the  Board  of  Assessors  of  Melrose. 

Besides  the  Uphams  already  spoken  of  as  ha\ing  lived  in 
the  old  homesteads  on  the  original  acres  of  the  first  Melrose 
Phineas,  he  had  numerous  other  descendants  who  lived  in  other 
homesteads  on  U})ham  Hill.  The  Rev.  Frederick  Upham, 
D.  D.,  "The  Nestor  of  the  I\F  V..  Church,"  was  the  son  of 
Samuel   .Sprague  U])liam,  ant!   was   born  C)ctol)er  4,  1799,  and 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


115 


died  March  20,  1891,  at  the  age  of  ninet)'-t\vo  years.  He  was 
a  very  active  and  influential  minister,  and  presiding  elder  in 
the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  He  began  his  career  as 
preacher  at  the  age  of  twenty,  continuing  until  within  a  very  few 
years  of  his  death.  His  brother,  Freeman  Upham,  born 
December  7,  181 1,  for  many  years  had  his  homestead  on 
Main  Street,  and  until  the  day  of  his  death,  May  25,  1900, 
was  hale  and  hearty;  he  walked  our  streets  during  his  last 
years  with  the  appearance  of  a  much  younger  man.  One  of 
his  sons,  Osgood  Wright  Upham,  born  May  2,  1835,  ^^'^s  a 
resident  of  Melrose  for  manv  v^ears,  but  now  resides  in  Keene, 
N.  H. 


JESSE    UPHAM    HOUSE. 

Another  branch  of  the  Upham  residents  on  this  hill,  and 
descendants  from  the  original  Phineas,  was  Jesse,  son  of 
Timothy,  who  was  born  August  29,  1710,  and  of  the  fifth 
generation.  Jesse  was  born  March  18,  1745,  and  died  August 
23,  1825,  at  the  age  of  eighty  years.  Jesse's  son,  also  named 
Jesse,  born  November  8,  1775,  lived  in  the  orignal  Phineas 
Upham  homestead.  He  died  A})ril  5,  i860,  aged  eight)'-five 
years. 

Jesse's  son,  Joshua  Upham,  born  Dec.  2y,  1806,  built  his 
house  on  Upham  Street,  near  Cjooch  Street.  This  has  now 
been  moved  to  P'irst  Street.  Joshua  died  Januar\'  16,  1871,  at 
the  age  of  sixty-four  years.     His  brother  George,  born  October 


116  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

4,  1810,  lived  in  his  grandfather  Jesse's  house.  Here  he  dwelt, 
cultivating  these  acres,  until  February  13,  1872,  when  he  died 
at  the  age  of  sixty-two  years.  His  homestead  was  on  the 
corner  of  Upham  Street  and  Waverly  Avenue,  and  must  have 
been  built  at  least  one  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago.  It  has 
received  some  additions  and  changes  but  is  in  good  condition. 
It  is  the  only  old  homestead  in  Melrose  which  still  retains  its 
old  well,  with  its  old-fashioned  well-sweep,  still  in  use,  and 
which  is  the  last  relic  of  this  primitive  mode  of  drawing  water. 
One  cannot  see  it  without  at  once  calling  to  mind  the  familiar 
refrain: 

The  old  oaken  bucket,  the  iron-bound  bucket, 
The  moss-covered  bucket,  which  hung  in  the  well. 

May  it  be  a  long  time  before  this  old  well-sweep  is  displaced! 
It  is  one  of  the  last  North  Maiden  relics  of  former  days. 
Suffer  it  to  remain  as  a  reminder  of  former  generations  of  the 
Uphams  of  Upham  Hill! 

Still  another  Upham  farm  and  homestead  was  situated  on 
Upham  Street,  that  of  Nathan  Upham,  son  of  Amos,  born 
February  28,  1781,  and  died  in  1845,  aged  64  years.  This 
was  on  the  north  side,  between  Upham  and  Porter  Streets. 
This  farm  was  inherited  b\-  his  two  sons,  Eli  and  Albert,  two 
bachelors,  who  tilled,  its  soil  for  many  years;  and  finally  lost 
possession  because  they  would  not  set  back  a  small  carriage 
or  tool  house  in  order  to  widen  Upham  Street;  being  ordered 
so  to  do,  first  by  the  town  authorities,  and  then  by  the  County 
Commissioners.  As  they  were  determined  not  to  move  it,  it 
was  done  by  the  State,  the  necessary  tax  levied,  refusal  to  pay, 
citation  in  Court,  non-appearance,  defalcation  decreed,  and 
the  estate  sold  to  Nathaniel  P.  Jones,  and  thus  passing  out 
of  the  possession  of  the  Uphams  forever.  Quite  a  portion  of 
the  farm  has  been  sold  in  house  lots,  and  many  of  our  finest 
residences  built  thereon;  but  Mr.  Jones  still  owns  many  of  its 
acres,  and  he  still  owns  the  old  homestead,  which  was  built  by 
Nathan  Upham  in  1816. 

The  brick  house,  on  what  is  now  known  as  the  "Parker 
Place,"  was  also  built  by  an  Upham,  Joshua,  son  of  the  senior 
Jesse,  in  1810.  He  was  a  master-mason  of  Salem.  The  road 
leading  from  the  present  Upham  Street,  just  to  the  east  of  this 
residence,  built  in  1796,  was  the  old  way  to  Saugus  and  Lynn. 
This  Upham  house  was  sold  sometime  during  the  war  of  181 2, 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  117 

to  a  Mr.  Peale,  for  $2,000.  and  the  payment  was  made  in  whole 
pepper,  which,  from  fear  of  being  raided  if  taken  to  Salem,  was 
stored  in  the  chamber  of  Jesse  Upham's  house,  then  on  Upham 
Street,  now  on  Waverly  Avenue.  After  the  war  was  over,  it  is 
said  by  representatives  of  the  Uphams,  the  pepper  was  bought 
back  by  the  former  owner.  Some  years  later  a  Mr.  Derby 
bought  this  place,  and  after  owning  it  several  years,  sold  it  to 
the  present  owners,  the  Parkers.  Cottages  for  different  mem- 
bers of  the  Parker  family  have  been  built  near  by,  and  the 
whole  cluster  of  buildings  makes  one  of  the  pleasantest  resi- 
dential spots  in  Melrose. 

Time  was  when  the  old  original  Amos  Upham,  and  the  two 
Jesse  Upham  houses,  views  of  two  of  which  are  given,  were  the 
only  ones  existing  on  what  is  now  Upham  Street,  once  Upham 
Lane,  or  the  old  country  road  to  Saugus. 

Just  over  the  brow  of  the  hill,  at  the  extreme  end  of  East 
Foster  Street,  there  exists  what  may  be  called  an  Upham  Ceme- 
tery, but  what  remains  visible  has  more  the  semblance  of  a 
tomb;  the  door  has  disappeared,  and  the  entrance  has  been 
walled  up.  Here  were  buried  the  two  Jesse  Uphams,  father 
and  son,  their  wives  and  many  of  their  children.  There  was 
also  entombed,  Thomas  Smith,  who  married  a  daughter  of 
Jesse  Upham,  and  his  wife,  also  a  Mr.  Towle,  who  once  lived 
on  the  Parker  Place.  There  were  graves  outside  the  tomb,  in 
which  burials  were  allowed;  among  them,  a  negro  named 
Johnson  and  his  wife,  and  quite  a  number  of  others.  These 
graves  were  entirely  obliterated,  years  ago,  by  plowing  and 
cultivating  the  soil.  The  tract  embraced  some  ten  thousand 
feet,  and  was  originally  fenced;  but  that  also  has  disappeared, 
and  nothing  but  the  face  of  the  undoored  tomb  now  remains, 
in  an  open,  unprotected  field. 

On  the  north  side  of  Lynde  Street,  a  few  rods  east  of  where 
Summer  Street  intersects,  there  once  stood  a  very  old  house, 
built  by  John  Pratt,  who,  at  his  death  in  1743,  gave  it,  with 
twelve  acres  of  land  to  his  grandson  David  Green,  who  sold  it 
to  Amos  Upham.  Mr.  Upham  was  a  blacksmith;  the  only  one 
in  this  part  of  the  town;  and  his  shop  was  nearby  his  dwelling. 
These  were  situated  on  the  original  1653  road.  In  those  days, 
besides  shoeing  horses  and  cattle,  and  repairing  carts,  a  great 
variety  of  work  was  done  at  the  blacksmith's  shop;  here  all 
kinds  of  agricultural  implements  then  used  were  made;  plough- 


118 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


shares,  axes,  spades,  hoes,  scythes,  etc.;  also  all  kinds  of  house- 
hold utensils;  and  a  blacksmith's  shop  was  a  much  frequented 
place.  Here  public  notices  were  posted.  In  1693,  when  rams 
were  not  allowed  to  run  at  large,  the  town  passed  the  following 
vote  which  was  duly  tacked  upon  the  blacksmith's  shop: 

That  ye  finder  of  any  Rams  shall  forthwith  set  up  a  paper  one  both 
ye  Smith  Shops  in  this  town  fairly  writen  ye  marke  of  said  Ram. 

This  property  passed  into  the  hands  of  William  Upham,  of 
the  fifth  generation,  in  1777.  He  was  born  August  7,  1747, 
and    was    a    soldier    in    the    Revolution;    being   in    the    battle 

at  Bunker  Hill,  and  at 
White  Plains,  where  he  was 
wounded  and  crippled  for 
life. 

On  the  opposite  side  of 
the  street,  on  the  rising 
ground,  stands  the  little 
one-stor\^  Dolly  Upham 
house,  built  by  William 
Upham,  in  181 2,  for  his 
son  William.  In  1845,  this 
property  passed  out  of  the 
possession  of  the  Uphams. 
The  Howards.  The  Howards  were  among  the  original 
families  occupying  the  territory  of  Melrose.  Peter  Tufts,  who 
seems  to  have  been  a  land  speculator,  owning  large  tracts  of 
land  in  this  region,  sold,  in  1663,  to  Samuel  Howard,  then  of 
Charlestown,  his  farm  land,  which  was  situated  in  what  is  now 
the  centre  of  Melrose.  It  is  described  in  the  Middlesex  Deeds, 
book  3,  page  276,  as  lying  at  Ell  Pond,  and  is  embraced  within 
the  following  bounds: 

Northerly  by  s^  Ell  Pond,  easterly  by  the  brook  from  s^  Ell  Pond, 
and  southerly  by  the  brook  running  from  Spot  Pond,  westerly  by  John 
Sprague's  farme. 

This  latter  line  has  been  described  as  running  northerly  from 
Spot  Pond  brook,  through  Cottage  Street,  crossing  Foster 
Street  and  the  railroad  east  of  the  late  Mrs.  Liberty  Bigelow's 
house,  and  so  on  a  straight  line  to  the  head  of  Ell  Pond. 
Mr.  Howard,  who  came  from  England  in  1635,  '"  the  ship 
"  Elizabeth,"  built  a  house  on  the  border  of  Ell   Pond,  on  the 


THE  DULLY  UPHAM  HOUSE. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


119 


east  side  and  near  its  outlet.  He  also  built  a  dam  across  the 
outlet,  and  erected  a  sawmill  thereon.  Samuel  Howard  died 
about  1681,  his  estate  passing  into  the  possession  of  his  heirs. 
His  son  Samuel  had  the  homestead  of  twenty  acres,  with  the 
sawmill,  bounded  north  by  Ell  Pond  and  south  by  a  line  a  few 
rods  north  of  Winthrop  and  Vine  Streets.  His  son  Jonathan 
had  the  remainder,  lying  south  of  this  line,  and  afterwards 
came  into  possession  of  this  mill,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  fol- 
lowing sale,  dated  Jan.  8,  1721: 

Jonathan  Howard  conveys  to  Samuel  Howard,  wheelwright,  one 
acre  of  land  lying  near  the  dwelling  house  of  said  Samuel  Howard, 
with  the  grist  or  cornmill  that  stands  on  the  land  with  the  mill  dam 
and  all  the  privilege  belonging  to  the  mill. 


THE  OLD  HOWARD  HOUSE. 

It  would  seem  that  this  mill,  after  a  service  of  fifty  years, 
exhausted  the  timber  in  its  vicinity  and  was  converted  into  a 
gristmill. 

Mary  Howard,  wife  of  Jonathan,  came  into  possession  of 
eight  acres  of  land  with  the  buildings  thereon,  on  the  east  side 
of  Ell  Pond.  The  house  here  referred  to  is  the  one  which, 
until  the  latter  part  of  1900,  stood  on  the  corner  of  Porter  and 
Lebanon  Streets.     This  was  a  very  old  house.     The  curb  of  the 


120  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

old  well  still  stands,  but  the  sweep  has  disappeared.  Benja- 
min Howard  sold  one -half  of  it  to  Joseph  Lynde,  in  1762, 
mentioning  in  the  deed  that  he  purchased  it  of  his  father  in 
1740.  This  estate  passed  into  the  hands  of  Jonathan  Howard, 
who  sold  to  Amos  Howard  in  1786;  and  he  sold  to  the  late 
Nathaniel  Howard,  so  long  the  principal  undertaker  of  Mel- 
rose. He  was  born  in  this  house,  with  a  large  family  of 
brothers  and  sisters.  One  of  them,  Atalanta  Howard,  married 
Isaac  Emerson,  who  built  his  homestead,  wherein  he  passed  a 
long  life,  where  now  stands  the  handsome  parsonage  of  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  on  Main  Street.  Another,  James, 
built  the  house  on  the  corner  of  Pleasant  and  Summer  Streets, 
Maiden,  now  occupied  by  his  grandson,  George  Howard  Fall, 
and  who,  many  years  after  leaving  his  home  on  the  borders  of 
Ell  Pond,  wrote  a  poem  in  its  memory:  "But  Now,  No  More, 
No  More,"  two  stanza?  of  which,  furnished  by  Mr.  Fall,  are  as 
follows: 

The  twilight  kissed  that  little  lake, 
The  waves  dipped  on  the  shore; 

We  said  such  days  shall  come  agaiu, 
But  now,  no  more,  no  more. 

The  sun  it  dazzles  on  the  lake. 

As  in  the  days  of  yore; 
There  the  old  cottage,  still  it  stands, 

Where  we  shall  meet  no  more. 

The  east  half  of  this  old  Howard  House,  and  the  adjoining 
land  was  sold  to  the  Melrose  Hospital  Association  before 
its  demolition;  the  other  half  of  the  estate,  still  belongs  to 
Cynthia  Howard  Hawkes,  a  daughter  of  Nathaniel  Howard, 
who  now  lives  in  Saugus. 

Nathaniel  Howard,  son  of  Jonathan,  built  a  house  at  an  early 
period  in  the  rear  of  the  present  Eastman's  Block,  on  Main 
Street,  about  fifteen  rods  east  of  said  street,  near  the  Ell  Pond 
brook.  By  his  will,  dated  in  1763,  he  gives  his  real  estate  and 
buildings  to  his  sons  Amos  and  Ezra.  This  estate  consisted 
of  about  forty  acres  of  land,  lying  on  both  sides  of  Main 
Street,  which  was  hot  then  in  existence,  embracing  the  old 
village  cemetery  lot  on  the  north,  on  which  now  stands  our 
High  School  Building,  bounded  east  on  t^ll  Pond  Brook,  south 
to  a  line  within  about  ten  rods  of  Foster  Street,  including  the 
Baptist  Church  and  Sewall  School  House  lots,  west  on  line 
just    in    the   rear   of    the    Main    Street    stores,    crossing    Essex 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


121 


Street  on  the  line  of  the  Cit\'  Hall  lot,  crossing  Dix's  Pond  and 
Winthrop  Street  to  a  line  parallel  with  the  north  line  of  the 
cemetery  lot.  Ezra  Howard  became  sole  owner  of  this  estate 
by  purchase  from  his  brother  Amos.  Ezra  Howard  died  and 
the  estate,  in  i8o8,  passed  into  the  possession  of  Ezra  Tainter 
and  William  Dix,  who  married  two  of  Ezra  Howard's  daugh- 
ters. Dix's  residence  was  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Essex 
Streets,  where  now  stands  our  City  Hall.  Tainter  owned  the 
old  house,  which  was  in  a  dilapidated  condition,  and  was 
demolished  about  the  time  Main  Street  was  laid  out  in  1806; 


1 

t 

i 

I 

■^  :-iL-^a8> 

i 

A 

m^wl^ 

w 

^fm- 

1 

OTp 

fi^^^i^^ 

b^aM.HH 

■r^ 

PRATT  FARM  HOMESTEAD. 

and  the  material  was  used  in  the  building  of  the  old  Tainter 
house,  for  many  years  occupied  by  the  late  Henry  G.  Fields, 
and  by  him  sold  to  Messrs.  Burrell  &  Swett.  They  sold  it 
to  Seth  E.  Benson,  who  removed  it  to  Faulkner  Place,  where 
it  now  stands.  Where  it  formerly  stood,  the  present  handsome 
block  was  erected  by  Messrs.  Burrell  &  Swett  in  1891.  It 
contains  stores,  and,  for  several  years  the  Post  Office  was  here 
located;  its  upper  stories  are  occupied  by  the  Melrose  Club. 

The  Charles  Pratt  farm,  of  fortj'-six  acres,  on  Lebanon 
Street,  now  belonging  to  the  City  of  Melrose,  having  been  pur- 
chased  in    1887,  for   the  purpose  of   enlarging  the  Wyoming 


122  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Cemetery,  was  originally  owned  by  Jonathan  Howard,  who 
built  a  house  thereon.  Reference  is  made  to  this  by  the 
Selectmen  of  Maiden,  when  running  bounds  in  1690,  as  fol- 
lows : 

Beginning  at  the  ferder  post  of  Joseph  Lynde  orchard  so  along  to 
Jonathan  Howards  land  next  to  the  common  land. 

When  bought  by  John  Pratt,  father  of  Charles,  in  1778,  ac- 
cording to  a  memorandum  found  among  Mr.  Barrett's  papers, 
the  house 

was  two  story  with  a  leaky  kitchen  on  the  back  of  the  west  end  and 
occupied  by  2  old  Maids  Ruth  &  Sarah  Wait.  The  old  Maids  were 
to  have  the  East  End  of  the  house  during  their  life  time.  .  .  After  the 
death  of  the  old  maids  John  Pratt  tore  down  the  old  house  and  built 
the  house  where  Charles  Pratt  now  lives,  in  1S06. 

Charles  Pratt  lived  in  the  old  homestead  a  year  and  a  half 
after  selling  his  farm  to  the  town  of  Melrose,  for  $10,000,  that 
consideration  being  a  part  of  the  price.  He  died  Sept.  2,  1888, 
at  the  age  of  eighty-six  years.  At  a  town  meeting  held  March 
14,  1898,  it  was  voted  to  utilize  the  mansion  house  and  twelve 
acres  of  this  property  as  a  poor  farm,  until  such  time  as  the 
territory  shall  be  needed  for  cemetery  purposes. 

Where  now  stands  the  Masonic  Building,  on  the  corner  of 
Main  Street  and  Wyoming  Avenue,  once  stood  another  home- 
stead of  the  Howards,  that  of  Joseph,  the  second  son  of 
Jonathan  Howard,  who  died  in  1769.  This  descended  to  his 
heirs,  and  afterward  passed  into  the  possession  of  Joseph 
Boardman;  and  when  the  Masonic  Building  was  erected,  the 
old  house  was  removed  to  Dell  Avenue,  and  occupied  as  a 
dwelling  until  within  a  few  years,  when  it  was  demolished. 

The  Vintons.  John  Vinton  of  Lynn,  was  the  ancestor  of 
all  the  Vintons  of  America.  The  first  of  the  Vintons  that 
settled  on  Melrose  territory,  were  the  brothers  Thomas  and 
Benoni,  of  the  fourth  generation,  about  the  year  1742.  They 
married  sisters,  Hannah  and  Mary  Green.  Thomas  bought 
his  farm  in  17.S8,  situated  on  what  is  now  Vinton  and  Franklin 
Streets.  The  old  county  road  from  Stoneham  to  Lynn,  ran 
through  our  territory  on  or  near  our  present   P^ranklin  Street; 

a  short  portion  of  it   being     Ci^j^      yv-w  f/ ^^"^^^J' —    / 

now  covered  by  Day  Street.    ^J-f^^^^"^^  /y,i>r^'r^ty 

As    we    have    seen    in    the    sketch    of    the    Barrett    familv, 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  123 

Thomas'  brother  Benoni,  came  into  possession  of  the  Moun- 
tain House  farm,  to  the  south  of  Maple  Street.  This  was  also 
in  1758.  Curious  articles  of  agreement  between  these  brothers 
exist  in  a  quaint  old  manuscript:     It  is 

agreed  and  Entered  into  by  &  between  Thomas  Vinton  of  Stoneham 
in  the  Count}'  of  middlesex  &  province  of  the  Massachusetts  bay  in 
New  England,  Husband=man  on  the  one  part  and  his  brother  Benoni 
Vinton  of  maiden  in  s^  County  Husband=man  on  the  other  part 
witnesseth  that  they  the  said  Thomas  and  Benoni  for  their  own 
Convenace  and  preventing  future  Dificulty  do  Covenant  promise  iSc: 
agree  to  &:  with  each  other  in  the  following  manner  Viz  that  the  said 
Thomas  shall  &  will  pay  or  Deliver  to  the  Said  Benoni  in  his  the  Said 
Thomases  orchards  near  his  house  annually  apples  anought  to  make 
two  barrels  of  Cyder  or  else  two  Barrels  of  Cyder  Ready  made  and 
delivered  by  the  said  Thomas  at  his  house  annually  to  the  said  Benoni 
that  is  Equaly  as  Good  as  the  other  Cyder  that  the  said  Thomas  makes 
provided  that  the  Said  Thomas  may  make  four  barrels  in  a  year  and 
untill  the  said  Benonis  young  orchard  near  his  house  doth  bear  apples 
anough  to  make  two  barrels  of  Cyder  in  one  3'ear  as  Shall  be  Judged 
by  Indiferent  men  and  that  the  Said  benoni  Shall  &  will  Give  Liberty 
to  the  Said  Thomas  within  three  years  from  the  Date  hereof  at  any 
time  to  pull  up  and  take  away  the  one  half  of  all  the  young  apple  trees 
that  are  now  in  the  nusseries  near  the  house  and  barn  of  the  Said 
benoni. 

Also  Benoni 

Shall  and  will  be  at  one  half  of  the  Cost  of  additional  finishing  the 
house  the  said  Thomas  now  Dwells  in  and  the  whole  to  be  done 
within  three  years  from  &  next  after  y^  28  day  of  July  Ad:   1758. 

This  house  was  on  what  is  now  Ashland  Street,  but  has  been 
turned  round  and  altered  somewhat.  It  is  now  owned  by  the 
estate  of  the  late  Charles  A.  Messenger. 

Benoni  Vinton's  son,  Lieut.  John,  was  a  man  of  note,  and 
filled  a  number  of  prominent  positions  in  Maiden.  He  was  a 
constable  in  1777,  and  as  such  served  a  warrant  under  the 
following  circumstances,  as  told  by  Mr.  Corey,  in  his  History  of 
Maiden,  pp.  769-70: 

In  the  winter  of  1776  the  General  Court  passed  "an  Act  to  prevent 
Monopoly  &  Oppression,"  which  was  designed  to  check  speculation 
and  a  spirit  of  extortion,  which,  as  is  usual  in  times  of  public  distress, 
began  to  appear.  Under  this  act  Ezra  Sargeant  and  Jonathan  Sprague 
gave  information,  on  oath,  to  the  Board  of  War,  "that  they  have  good 
Reason  to  suspect  that  in  the  Houses  of  Mary  Emmerson  Widow  & 


124  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Jacob  parker  Housewright  or  Gentleman,  both  of  Maiden  aforesaid 
there  is  considerable  number  of  yards  of  \\'oolen  &  Linnen  Cloth, 
which  Cloth  is  absolutely  necessary  for  the  use  of  the  Army  &  that  the 
said  cloth  in  said  Houses  the  owner  refuses  to  sell  or  dispose  of  at 
reasonable  price." 

On  this  information  a  warrant  was  issued,  upon  which  the  following 
return  was  made  March  19,  1777. 

"  Jn  obediance  to  the  within  Precept  I  have  made  Search  In  the  house 
of  the  widow  Mary  Emerson  &  have  found  in  said  house  forty  three 
yards  one  Qr^  &  one  8.  of  a  yard  of  Checked  woolen  Cloath  &  twenty 
live  yards  one  half  &  1.8  of  a  yard  of  Tow  Cloath  &  after  taking  the 
same  into  my  care  the  Agents  appointed  by  the  Selectmen  of  maiden 
agreed  with  the  said  mary  for  the  Cloath  &  purchased  it  at  the  State 
price.  I  Dident  proceed  to  go  to  mr  Parkers  house  by  reason  it  was 
not  Suspected  that  any  of  the  Goods  had  been  Removed  there 

"pr  me  John  Vinton  Constable." 

Papers  on  file  in  the  offiee  of  the  Secretary  of  State. 

Mrs.  Emerson  was  the  widow  of  the  Rev.  Joseph  Emerson,  and 
Jacob  Parker  was  their  son-in-law.  After  the  death  of  Mr.  Emerson 
his  widow  and  daughters  appear  to  have  kept  a  small  shop  for  the  sale 
of  goods  in  their  house  near  the  meeting  house. 

Lieut.  Vinton  was  a  member  of  the  Committee  of  Corre- 
spondence for  Maiden,  for  the  years  1779  and  1780,  serving 
with  Lieut.  Bernard  Green,  John  Green,  William  Dexter,  Sam- 
uel Sprague,  Jonathan  Sprague  and  others.  He  was  also  Tax 
Collector  for  Maiden's  assessment  by  the  State. 

Treasurer's  Office,  Jan'  13  1778 
Received  of  Mr.  John  \lnton  of  Maiden  one  hundred  twenty  four 

pounds  6  in  part  for  Taxes  committed  to  him  to  collect  for  the  Year 

1778. 
^124=6=0  H.  Gardner  Treasurer.'*-' 

Lieut.  Vinton's  military  ser\-ices  are  gi\"en  in  the  chapter 
"Military  History." 

Benoni  Vinton  died  in  1760,  and  his  brother  Thomas  in  1763. 
Thomas  left  three  sons,  Thomas,  Timothy,  and  Ezra.  To 
Timothy  he  gaxe  the  above  homesteaci.  He  ne\er  married, 
but  lived  with  his  mother,  until  she  died  in  1804.  He  lived 
to  be  ninety-two  years  of  age,  and  died  in  1836,  an  abject 
miser.  Turning  his  farm  productions  into  money,  he  would 
hide  it  in  all  sorts  of  out-of-the-way  places;  burying  some  of  it 
in  the  ground,  a  part    of   which    was    undoubtedly    lost;    fi\e 

*®  From  old  papers  in  possession  of  George  A.  Fuller. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  125 

hundred  Spanish  dollars,  old  and  tarnished,  found  in  his 
house,  were  divided  among  his  relatives  immediately  after 
his    funeral. 

For  Thomas  was  built,  in  1770,  the  house  formerly  standing 
near  the  corner  of  Tremont  and  Franklin  Streets,  since  re- 
moved to  the  corner  of  Tremont  Street  and  Ellsworth  Avenue, 
and  now  owned  by  John  Singer,  Senior.  This  farm  descended 
to  his  son  Thomas,  who  died  in  1841,  aged  70,  of  whom  it  is 
said  he  never  left  his  farm  for  forty  years,  and  never  visited 
Boston,  although  living  so  near  it.  He  left  a  very  singular 
will,  bequeathing  his  property  in  a  curious  manner  to  the 
Baptist  Church  of  Maiden.  In  1846,  the  Baptist  Church 
sold  it  to  VVinthrop  Richardson.  This  was  soon  after  the 
Boston  and   Maine   Railroad  was  opened.     At  this  time  there 


''     ■        ■  r       .  ^ 


were  but  four  houses  in  what  is  now  the  Highlands,  west  of 
Main  Street  —  three  occupied  by  Vintons  and  one  by  the 
Greens.  This  old  homestead  farm  was  held  by  Mr.  Richard- 
son for  farming  purposes  until  1853,  when  it  was  surveyed, 
and  laid  out  in  streets  and  house  lots,  and  people  from  Boston 
began  to  make  investments  and  build  homes  thereon.  For 
himself  he  built  a  fine  mansion,  of  which  the  above  is  a 
view.  It  stood  about  where  now  is  situated  the  residence  of 
Charles  E.  French,  on  Highland  Avenue,  the  tower  standing 
where  the  Stone  Fort,  sometimes  called  "Chipman's  Folly,"  is 
situated,  on  Chipman  Avenue.  This  tower,  from  the  top  of 
which  was  afforded  a  most  extensive  \-iew  of  the  surrounding 
countr\',  was  destroyed  by  an  incendiary  fire  one  Fourth  of  July, 


126 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


several  years  since,  and  the  house  has  been  removed  to  Ash- 
land Street,  and  is  now  the  residence  belonging  to  the  estate 
of  the  late  Charles  A.  Messenger. 

The  following  is  a  view  at  the  corner  of  Franklin  and  Green- 
wood Streets  as  it  existed  in  1853,  and  where  now  stands  the 
residence  of  the  late  Frank  A.  Messenger.  The  two  houses 
are  those  of  the  late  octogenarian,  Deacon  Joel  Snow,  and  Mrs. 
Martha  A.  Adams,  widow  of  the  late  Rev.  John  G.  Adams, 
D.  D. 


What  propert)'  had  not  been  disposed  of  by  Mr.  Richardson, 
before  his  accidental  death  on  the  railroad  in  1853,  was  in- 
herited by  his  daughter,  Mrs.  Caroline  M.  Wood,  who  now 
lives  on  Tremont  Street;  and  in  1895,  the  large  tract  of  land 
north  of  Highland  Avenue,  then  owned  by  her,  was  surveyed 
and  laid  out  in  house  lots,  in  an  artistic  manner  b}^  Ernest  W. 
Bowditch;  and  many  fine  residences  have  since  been  built 
thereon.  It  is  destined  to  become  one  of  the  finest  residen- 
tial precincts  of  Melrose. 

In  1777,  Ezra  Vinton  bought  the  Deacon  Joseph  Green  farm 
and  homestead,  situated  westerlj'  from  the  original  Thomas 
Vinton  farm,  the  house  being  on  Vinton  Street,  near  the  corner 
of  Franklin  Street.  Our  present  Vinton  Street  was  then 
merely  a  cartway  which  led  from  Stoneham  to  Maiden. 
About  1790  this  house  was  burned,  and  Ezra  then  built  on  the 
same  spot  the  house  now  standing.  This  is  one  of  those 
large-timbered,     strongly-built,     huge-chimne}'ed,    with     o\en 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


127 


attachment,  old-fashioned  houses  of  the  earl>'  settlers  of  the 
seventeenth  and  eighteenth  centuries;  devoid  of  ornamenta- 
tion, but  commodious  and  comfortable.  It  is  not  quite  so 
strongly  built,  in  the  way  of  timbers,  as  those  of  the  earlier 
settlers.  It  has  had  some  alterations  and  additions  in  the 
rear,  and  the  top  of  the   chimney  has  been  made  smaller. 

At  the  death  of  Ezra  in  1S17.  the  estate  was  inherited  by  his 
son  Joseph  Vinton,  who  owned  it  until  1845,  ^^'li*-'"  it  was  sold 
to  Horatio  Nelson  Perkins,  who  lived  many  years  on  the 
corner  of  Vinton  and  Franklin  Streets.  He  sold  the  Vinton 
homestead  to  Israel  Richardson  of  Portland,  and  the  property- 


KZRA  VINTON    HOMESTEAD. 

is  now  owned  by  his  heirs;  but  Miss  Sarah  A.  Che\er,  through 
Mr.  Richardson's  generosity,  has  a  life  lease  of  the  house.  She 
has  gathered  many  interesting  heir-looms  therein;  among  them 
three  chairs  and  writing  table  that  belonged  to  Rew  Cotton 
Mather,  D.  D.  On  this  table  many  of  his  sermons  and  books 
were  written;  the  chairs  will  be  st'en  in  the  centre  of  this  in- 
terior view  of  one  of  the  rooms  in  this  comfortable  old 
mansion,  but   the  table  has  been  disposed  of. 

A  grandson  of  Kzra,  Aaron  \'inton,  born   in    1826,  lived  on 


128 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Howard  Street,  where  he  carried  on  the  farming  industry  for 
many  years.     He  died  July  i,  1901. 

The  southern  part  of  the  Ezra  Vinton  farm,  the  woodlands, 
was  sold  by  Mr.  Perkins,  to  Dexter  Bryant,  and  is  still  owned 
by  him,  with  the  exception  of  those  portions  sold  in  houselots 
and  built  upon.  On  this  land,  some  way  south  of  Orris 
Street,  formerly  Green  Lane,  on  the  high  ground,  is  an  old 
cellar-hole  where  once  stood  the  Wilson  house.  Six  or  seven 
large  elm  trees  are  now  growing  within  its  walls,  Mr.  Wilson 
was  a  shoemaker  and  school-teacher;  and  carried  on  both 
branches  of  his  business  in  that  house,  and  at  the  same  time.°^ 


KZRA  VINTON  HOUSE— INTERIOR. 

A  natural  curiosity  existed  on  the  southern  part  of  this 
Vinton  farm,  and  now  belongs  to  the  estate  of  Mrs.  Benjamin 
F.  Dyer,  No.  44  Orris  Street.  It  is  an  immense  "Cleft  Boul- 
der," or  natural  gateway  to  the  woods  beyond,  a  view  of  which 
is  here  given.  The  space  between  its  walls  is  wide  enough  for 
a  carriage  drive,  and   it  has  a  large  oak  tree  growing  therein. 

■''^  This  Wilson  place  formed  the       of  1S53,  when  a  part  of  Stouehani 
corner   from   which   the   boundary       was  set  off  to  Melrose, 
line  was  run  northerly,  in  the  act 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


1:>9 


It  is  an  interesting  specimen  and  relic  of  the  glacial  age.     It 
has  been  called  by  some  "Chapel  Rock"  —  why  I  know  not. 

As  we  have    seen    in  the  history  of   the  Green  famil)',  for 
more  than  a  century  they  owned   nearly  all  the  territory  now 
comprised    in    the    Melrose   Highlands,  and    a    large    part    of 
Greenwood.     After  the  advent  of  the  Vintons,  and  their  mar- 
riage  into    the   Green    fami- 
lies, this  Highlands  territory, 
to  a  very    large    extent,  be- 
came   the    property    of    the 
Vintons.     These  three  broth- 
ers,   Thomas,    Timothy    and 
Ezra   Vinton,  lived    side    by 
side,    on    the    then    existing 
county    road,    (discontinued 
when    Franklin    Street    was 
built,)    and    joined    Captain 
Sprague's  company  of  "  Min- 
THE  CLEFT  BOULDER.  ute     Men,"    marching    from 

Stoneham  to  Lexington,  April  19th,  1775.^^ 

These  families,  the  history  of  which  has  been  given  more  or 
less  in  detail,  are  the  ones  that  owned  nearly  every  acre  of  the 
occupied  territory  now  Melrose,  during  the  early  years,  and 
many  of  the  members  of  which  were  prominent  in  town 
affairs;  and  each  and  every  one  of  which  has  descendants 
among  its  citizens  today.  Their  characteristics,  as  well  as 
those  of  all  New  Englanders  in  general  of  that  period,  are 
concisely  described  by  Corey,  in  his  History  of  Maiden,  pp. 
296-300. 

Whatever  the  superticial  observer  may  pretend  to  see  in  the  past 
which  is  now  two  centuries  agone,  there  was  very  little  of  romance  in 
the  lives  of  the  foredwellers  of  New  England.  The  land  which,  when 
weary  leagues  away  beyond  the  sea,  seemed  to  How  with  milk  and 
honey  and  to  stand  forth  a  later  Canaan  amid  the  virgin  forests  of  the 
new  world,  became  to  their  nearer  vision  a  reality  of  bleak  and  rocky 
shores,  a  stubborn  land  of  dark  woods  and  rocky  soil  wherein  Israel 
might  rest ;  but  where  existence  was  to  be  had  at  the  price  of  priva- 
tions not  unmixed  with  suffering,  and  where  a  livelihood  was  only  to 
be  gained  bv  the  literal  sweat  of  the  brow. 


*^  Capt.  Sprague  lived  in    Stoneham,  on    the  borders   of  Spot   Pond. 
Bucknam,  letter  July  10,  1899. 


18(1  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Out  of  such  surroundings  and  from  such  conditions  arose  a  genera- 
tion not  unlike  the  countrj-  which  had  given  them  birth  and  in  which 
their  early  youth  had  been  passed.  .  .  .  Much  though  there  may  have 
been  of  spiritual  grace  in  these  men  and  women  of  the  seventeenth 
centur}',  there  was  little  of  that  outward  grace  which  tempers  the 
manners  of  men  and  beautifies,  if  it  does  not  elevate,  the  lives  which 
fall  within  the  circle  of  its  influence.  Out  of  the  hard  and  simple  lives 
which  they  led  perforce  came  a  race  of  hard  and  simple  men  and 
women,  who  were  almost  without  a  sense  of  the  beautiful,  thinking- 
little  of  those  arts  which  had  borne  a  rich  fruitage  in  the  land  of  their 
fathers,  and  who  were  as  careless  of  the  beautiful  in  nature  as  in  art. 
Hardly  within  the  pale  of  civilization  could  a  people  be  found,  even  in 
the  se\-enteenth  centur}-,  so  destitute  of  the  aesthetic  sense.  In  music, 
their  knowledge  was  bounded  by  the  few  tunes  which  they  painfully 
sung  in  a  high  and  unnatural  key  in  the  drearj-  meeting  houses,  which 
matched  the  tunes  they  sung.  Of  painting  and  sculpture  the}'  knew 
comparatively  nothing;  and  poetr}-  of  a  range  above  the  Bay  Psalms 
or  the  Day  of  Doom,  and  philosophy,  except  it  came  within  the  narrow 
limits  of  a  prescribed  theology,  were  forbidden  fruits.  .  .  . 

Yet  there  was  much  of  promise  in  the  strait  and  formal  habits  of 
life  and  thought  of  the  fathers  of  New  England.  Underlying  all  was 
a  sound  and  uncompromising  enmity  to  injustice  and  wrong,  and  an 
unflinching  devotion  to  the  right,  as  they  understood  it ;  and  more  than 
all.  there  was  a  sturd)'  assertion  of  the  independence  of  the  indi\'idual 
and,  through,  him,  of  the  masses.  There  was  an  ever-present  de- 
mocracy, latent  sometimes  and  sometimes  militant,  but  always  ready 
to  spring  into  life  and  action.  They  were  not  alwaj's  law-abiding;  but 
it  was  a  wicked  or  an  unjust  law  which  they  resisted ;  and  their  resist- 
ance was  usually  fortified  b}'  good  and  sufiicient  legal  principals.  .  .  . 

Out  of  these  qualities  came  all  that  has  endured  of  the  old  Puritanic 
fabric  which  the  fathers  reared ;  and.  while  mistakes  and  weaknesses 
of  the  past  have  disappeared  one  by  one,  these  enduring  qualities 
have  remained  with  us  as  a  i^eople  and  are  the  corner-stones  of  a  great 
nation. 

Of  similar  characteristics  were  the  settlers  and  early  inhabitants  of 
Maiden  ;  and  while  the}'  may  not  have  reached  the  higher  limits  of 
those  qualities,  they,  happily,  did  not  descend  to  the  lower  depths 
of  ignorance  and  crime.  They  were  the  common  people  of  a  common 
New  England  settlement  of  the  lesser  kind — farmers,  woodsmen,  and 
craftsmen,  who  cleared  their  lands  and  built  Iheir  humble  homes, 
jealously  guarding  their  privileges  as  well   against   ecclesiastical   as 

against  civil  encroachments There  were  fields  to  clear,  houses, 

roads,  and  mills  to  build,  and  abo\e  all.  in  God's  Providence,  the 
foundation  of  a  nation  to  lay  deep,  though  they  in  their  weakness 
knew  it  not,  happil}-  building  better  than  the}'  knew. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS.  131 

These  were  the  conditions  of  the  people  of  Maiden  during  the 
period  which  intervened  between  their  settlement  and  the  war  of  the 
Indian  Philip.  Their  work  was  that  of  subduing  the  forests  and  wild 
lands,  and  bringing  them  into  forms  fit  for  the  uses  of  civilization. 
Then  were  laid  out  farms,  whose  boundary  lines  may  still  be  traced, 
and  roads,  which  from  mere  winding  paths  have  become  our  principal 
streets. 

Besides  these  families  already  spoken  of,  there  were  others, 
some  of  whose  names  have  been  mentioned,  who  became  resi- 
dents of  this   territory  at   quite   an  early  date;  among   them. 
Herring,  Breeden,  Wilkinson,  Grover,  and  Bunnell;  but  most 
of  them  have  disappeared,  and  no  longer  have  representatives 
among  our  citizens.     Nearly  all  of  these  lived  in  the  south- 
easterly part  of  the  Town,  in  the  Long  Pond  district.     At  a 
later  date,  some  before,  some  after,  and  some  about  the  time 
of   the   Revolutionary  War,   came  the    Pratts,   the    Emersons, 
Edmunds,     Larrabees,     Boardmans,     Hemenways,     Tainters, 
Fullers,  Coxes,  Waites,  Goulds,  Eatons  and  a  few  others;  and 
the  descendants  of  most  of  these  families  are  still  citizens  of 
Melrose.     Of  some  of  them  much  might  be  said  concerning 
their  identification  with  the  interests  of  the  Town,  while  it  was 
a  part  of  Maiden,  and  since  its  incorporation.     Some  served  in 
the  early  wars;  some  in  the  Revolution;  some  held  civic  ofifice; 
some  were  manufacturers;   and   some  were  peaceful  farmers. 
Thomas  Bunnell  served  in  King  Philip's  War,  being  in  garri- 
son at  Groton.     He  lived  on  the  old  road  to  Reading.     The 
cellar  of  his  house  remained  in  the  land  now  occupied  by  the 
Wyoming  Cemetery  in   Melrose,  until  filled  by  Charles  Pratt 
many  years  ago.^-     He  was  sexton  of  the  Maiden  church  for 
twenty-eight   years,  his  first    year  being   1690.     March   169^3, 
after  the  church  bell   had   been  transferred  from  its  frame  on 
the  rock,  where  it  had  previously  hung,  thus  giving  the  name 
to  the  near-by   Bell    Rock  Cemetery,  the  following  vote  was 
passed: 

Thomas  dunnell  Is  chose  to  Ring  ye  bell  and  sweep  and  look  after 
y^  meting  hous  for  this  year:  and  the  Town  cloth  agree  to  give  him 
Thirty  five  shillings  by  a  Reate :  ye  said  dunnell  Is  also  to  dig  the 
graues. 

He  was  re-elected.  March  7,  ij-y/^o.  and  appears  no  more.  I  sus- 
pect that  he  performed  his  duties  until  the  next  winter,  and  that  Sandy 

°'-  Corey,  History  oj  Ulaldcn,  355. 


132 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Bank  took  to  itself  all  that  it  could  claim  of  the  bellman  and  grave- 
digger.53 

One  of  the  earliest  settlers  in  Maiden  was  Capt.  John  Wayte 
(Waite)  who  married  Mary,  daughter  of  Joseph  Hills.  From 
him  have  descended  the  many  citizens  bearing  that  honored 
name.  One  of  them,  Ezra,  lived  on  territory  now  Melrose,  in 
what  is  known  as  the  Ezra  Waite  House. 


EZRA  WAITE  HOUSE. 

This  interesting  old  domicile,  now  owned  by  George  H. 
Ireson,  who  has  lived  therein  some  sixty  years,  is  situated  on 
Swain's  Pond  Avenue,  in  the  southeastern  part  of  Melrose. 
No  one  knows  just  when  it  was  built,  but  it  is  undoubtedly 
two  centuries  old.  It  has  brick-lined  walls,  and  the  usual 
wooden  cross-beams  in  the  ceiling,  found  in  all  the  oldest 
houses.  On  the  opposite  side  of  the  road  may  be  seen  the 
remnants  of  an  old  milldam;  this  makes  it  evident  that  there 
were  once  two  sawmills  on  the  outlet  of  Swain's  Pond,  one  of 
which,  Grover's,  has  been  before  referred  to. 

Emerson.  William  Emerson,  although  born  in  Reading, 
and  li\-ing  some  years  in  Woburn,  early  came  to  North  Mai- 
den. He  married  Mary  Vinton,  a  sister  of  the  three  brothers, 
Thomas,   Timothy    and    Ezra    X'inton,    heretofore    spoken    of. 

^^  Corey,  History  of  Maiden,  355. 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


133 


Mr.  Emerson  was  in  the  Revolution,  enlisting  at  the  early 
age  of  eighteen;  and  the  relation  of  his  war  experiences, 
to  his  children  and  grandchildren,  afforded  much  entertain- 
ment.^ His  first  homestead  "  stood  near  the  old  well  with 
a  narrow  cartway  between  the  house  and  well,"  says  one  of  his 
sons,  the  Rev.  Warren  Emerson,  waiting  June  23,   1876: 

The  house  was  afterwards  sold  to  Amos  P.  Lynde,  and  converted 
into  a  barn.  In  the  above  house  my  father  kept  a  Public  House  for 
a  number  of  years.     The  family  moved  into  the  new  house  on  the 


.1  - 


.''-:^^' 


EMERSOX  TAVERN. 


•^^  William  Emerson,  fthen  of 
Reading),  was  private  in  Capt.  John 
Dix's  Co.,  Col.  Mcintosh's  regi- 
ment, Gen.  Lovel's  brigade  ;  en- 
listed Aug.  I,  1778;  discharged 
Sept.  12,  1778  ;  service  i  mo.  15  dys., 
travel  included,  at  Rhode  Island; 
also,  descriptive  list  of  men  raised 
to  reinforce  Continental  Army  for 
the  term  of  6  mos.,  agreeable  to 
resolve  of  June  5,  1780,  returned  as 
received  of  Justin  Ely,  Commis- 
sioner, by  Brig.  Gen.  John  Glover, 
at  Springfield,  July  11,  1780;  age, 
20  yrs.  ;  stature,  5  ft.  7  in.  ;  com- 
plexion, ruddy;  engaged  for  town 


of  Reading;  arrived  at  Sprinfield 
July  10,  1780;  marched  to  camp 
July  ri,  1780,  under  command  of 
Ensign  Bancroft ;  also,  list  of  men 
raised  for  the  6  mos.  service  and 
returned  by  Brig.  Gen.  Paterson  as 
having  passed  muster  in  a  return 
dated  CampTotoway,  Oct.  25,  1780; 
also,  pay  roll  of  6  mos.  men  raised 
b}'  the  town  of  Reading  for  service 
in  the  Continental  •A.rmy  during 
1780;  marched  July  5,  1780;  dis- 
charged Dec.  12,  1780;  service,  5 
mos.,  19  dys.  iMassachiisctts  Sol- 
diers and  Sailors  of  the  Revolittiort- 
ary  War,  Vol.  v,  p.  352. 


134  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

corner  of  Main  and  Emerson  Streets,  either  the  6th  or  7th  of  November, 
1805,  as  you  may  tind  marked  with  chalk  on  a  rafter  in  the  garret  in 
the  east  end  of  the  house  unless  it  has  been  rubbed  out  by  some  one. 
I  think  marked  by  myself. 

In  this  old  inn  all  of  Mr.  Emerson's  children  were  born, 
excepting  William,  son  of  his  first  wife,  who  early  went  to 
Bangor,  Maine,  and  Isaac,  the  oldest  son  by  his  second  wife, 
who  was  born  in  Woburn.  Another  sister  of  these  Vintons, 
Martha,  married  John  Pratt,  father  of  the  late  Charles  Pratt, 
whose  farm  was  on  our  present  Lebanon  Street,  and  which  now 
forms  part  of  the  Wyoming  Cemetery. 

Hemenway.  Francis  Hemenway,  whose  farm  was  on  the 
easterly  side  of  East  Street,  corner  of  Porter,  was  born  in 
Stoneham  in  1797,  but  came  to  Melrose  when  he  was  a  year 
old.  In  1815,  there  occurred  an  Indian  mock  fight,  in  which 
Mr.  Hemenway  took  part.  Some  six  hundred  Maiden  and 
Reading  men,  arrayed  in  war-paint  and  feathers,  tomahawks 
and  scalping-knives,  were  pitted  against  several  military  com- 
panies from  Charlestown  and  other  towns.  The  battle  began 
on  Reading  Hill,  north  of  Green  Street,  and  ended  at  Joseph 
Boardman's,  whose  house  stood  where  Masonic  Hall  now 
stands.  After  a  hard  and  desperate  struggle  the  red  men 
were  defeated.  Mr.  Hemenway  represented  an  Indian  squaw, 
and  carried  on  his  back  for  a  papoose,  the  late  Charles  Porter, 
then  a  baby  two  years  old.  During  Lafayette's  visit  in  1825, 
Mr.  Hemenway  joined  the  military  company  at  Maiden  cen- 
tre, marched  to  Bunker  Hill,  to  take  part  in  the  laying  of  the 
corner-stone  of  the  monument,  heard  Daniel  Webster's  great 
oration,  and  shook  hands  with  our  friend  and  ally,  the  great 
Frenchman.  The  old  homestead,  with  its  well  and  well-sweep, 
has  disappeared  but  the  house  still  exists,  having  been  mo\-ed 
to  the  upper  end  of  Porter  Street. 

The  Old  Boardman  House.  Although  this  house  does 
not  actually  stand  on  Melrose  territory,  it  is  so  near  it,  being 
just  over  the  line  in  Saugus,  its  age,  its  history,  and  the  lives 
of  some  of  its  former  occupants,  are  so  closely  connected  with 
our  city,  that  it  is  appropriate  to  introduce  a  view  of  the 
venerable  relic,  with  a  short  sketch  of  its  history. 

It  is  known,  far  and  wide,  as  the  Abijah  Boardman  House, 
and  is  situated  on  Howard  Street.  It  is  one  of  the  oldest,  if 
not  the  oldest  house  now  standing  on   New  England  soil.     It 


OLD  FAMILIES  AND  HOMESTEADS. 


135 


was  built  in  1635-6,  by  Samuel  Bennett,  who  came  to  Saugus 
in  the  first  of  these  years.  He  came  over  from  England,  at  his 
own  cost,  in  consequence  of  which  he  received  a  grant  of  fift\' 
acres  of  land,  locating  it  on  this  spot. 

\\\\h  the  shrewdness  which  was  characteristic  among  the  first 
settlers,  he  selected  for  the  site  a  moderate  elevation  just  west  of  a 
running  rivulet  which  came  down  from  Castle  Hill  to  water  his 
"  horned  cattle."  and  to  meet  at  the  declivity  south  of  the  house 
another  little  stream  that  kept  green  and  fertile  his  meadows. 

The  house  is  the  best  preserved  specimen  of  the  projecting 
upper  story  architecture  to  be  found.  It  has  the  old  fashioned 
huge  chimney,  fireplaces,  and  o\-ens,  of  the  early  colonial 
period;    large   beams   cross   its   ceilings;    hand-made,  wrought 


ABIJAH    liUARDM.^N   HOUSE. 

iron  nails  were  used;  its  cellar  stairs  are  made  of  hewn  logs 
instead  of  boards;  and  the  walls  were  bricked  between  the 
upright  timbers  from  top  to  bottom,  thus  making  it  warm  and 
imperx'ious  to  the  storms  of  winter;  and  the  old  house  is  still 
strong  and  able  to  defy  the  tempests  of  yet  other  centuries. 
The  projecting  upper  story,  in  this  case  eighteen  inches  wide, 
so  often  thought  to  be  so  built  for  a  means  of  defence,  simply 
followed  familiar  architectural  designs  for  dwellings  extant  in 
the  early  part  of  the  seventeenth  century.  The  openings, 
through  which  to  shoot,  or  pour  hot  water  upon  the  heads  of 
attacking  Indians,  exist  only  in  imagination. 


CHAPTER  V. 

ECCLESIASTICAL    HISTORY. 

THE  First  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  The  first  or- 
ganized religious  society  in  Melrose  (North  Maiden) 
was  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church.  In  the  winter  of 
1813,  a  committee  consisting  of  Phineas  Sprague,  James  Green, 
Jesse  Upham  and  Cotton  Sprague,  requested  the  Rev.  Timothy 
Merritt  —  then  a  member  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature 
from  Maine — to  preach  in  the  little  district  school-house, 
which  was  situated  on  the  west  side  of  the  old  road,  now 
Lebanon  Street,  a  short  distance  south  of  the  present  Upham 
Street.  He  accepted  and  continued  for  four  Sabbaths,  begin- 
ning February  4.  A  political  sermon  had  been  deli\'ered  in 
the  Orthodox  Church,  at  Maiden  Centre,  which  was  opposed 
to  the  pre\-ailing  sentiment  existing  in  North  Maiden,  and 
consequently  caused  great  dissatisfaction  among  its  residents; 
and  the  call  to  Mr.  Merritt  was  the  result  of  an  indignation 
meeting  held  in  one  of  their  barns. 

In  support  of  this  mox'ement  the  following  petition  was 
prepared  and  circulated  previous  to  the  commencement  of 
these  services: 

i\L\Lr)EN,  Jan}-  15''!  1S13. 
The  undersigned,  impressed  with  the  necessity  of  attendance  upon 
Public  \\'orship,  experiencing  the  disadvantages  of  residing  at  a 
distance  from  Meeting  and  belie\'ing  that  the  interest  of  Pietj'  & 
Morality  would  be  promoted  by  Meeting  in  this  vicint}'  for  religious 
Worship  do  hereby  severally  agree  to  pay  the  Sums  set  against  their 
respective  Names  for  the  Supi^ort  of  a  Methodist  Preacher  to  Preach 
Statedly  at  the  Northern  District  School  House. 

Phineas  Sprague,  Jr., 

Joseph  Howard. 

Asa  L'pham, 

Jesse  Upham. 

Joseph  Board  man, 

Samuel  Sprague, 

Peter  Barrett. 


3.00 

Josiah  Fuller, 

1.00 

3.00 

Moses  Rand, 

1 .00 

2.00 

James  Howard, 

1 .00 

1.50 

James  Green.  Jr.. 

1.00 

3.00 

Samuel  Green,  Jr., 

2.00 

1. 00 

Jonathan  Barrett, 

3.00 

1. 00 

Issac  \'inton. 

2.00 

ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY. 


137 


Benjamin  Porter, 
Isaac  Emerson, 
Edward  Emerson, 
Asa  Hart, 
Robert  Gary, 
Phineas  Sprague, 


2.00 

James  L.  Green, 

1. 00 

I  .00 

Charles  Fuller, 

1. 00 

I  .00 

Cotton  Sprague, 

3.00 

1. 00 

Jonas  Green, 

5.00 

1. 00 

Hermon  Sturtevant, 

1 .00 

1.50 

Hanson  Connor, 

1. 00 

Total, 


$45.00 

A  few  months  later  another  petition  was  circulated  for  the 
same  purpose,  in  order  to  continue  the  services: 

Malden,  Sept.  i6t'i  181 3. 
We  the  Subscribers  do  several!}'  agree  to  pay  the  sums  set  against 
our   Names  for  the  support   of    Methodist   Preaching   at   the   North 
District  School  House. 

Jesse  Upham, 

Phineas  Sprague, 

William  Emerson, 

Jonathan  Barrett, 

Cotton  Sprague, 

Phineas  Sprague,  Jr., 

Jesse  Upham,  Jr., 

Jonas  Green,  Jr., 

Isaac  Vinton, 

Samuel  Green,  Jr., 

Asa  Upham, 

Isaac  Emerson, 

Joseph  Boardman, 

James  Howard, 

Samuel  Sprague, 

Amos  Upham, 

Benjamin  Porter. 


2.00 

Joseph  Richardson. 

1. 00 

1.50 

Moses  Rand, 

1. 00 

3.00 

\\'illiam  Edmunds, 

1. 00 

3.00 

Charles  Fuller, 

.50 

3.00 

Phineas  Green, 

2.00 

3.00 

Benjamin  L3'nde,  Jr., 

1. 00 

3.00 

Jonas  Green, 

2.00 

2.00 

Joseph  Fuller, 

.50 

2.00 

Jonathan  Boardman, 

2.00 

2.00 

Thomas  Green, 

2.00 

2.00 

Hanson  Connor, 

1. 00 

2.00 

Joseph  Lynde,  Jr.. 

2.00 

2.00 

Edward  Emerson, 

2.00 

I  .00 

George  Emerson, 

1 .00 

1. 00 

Barse  Sturtevant. 

1. 00 

2.00 
2.00 

Joseph  Howard, 

2.50 

Total, 


^59.oo 


Mr.  Merritt  was  succeeded  by  Re\-.  Epaphras  Kilby,  who 
also  preached  four  Sabbaths.  He  was  succeeded  b\'  Rev. 
Thomas  C.  Pierce,  who  remained  six  months,,  at  a  salary  of 
$2  per  Sabbath.  The  next  preacher,  Rev.  Ephraim  Wiley, 
remained  three  \'ears,  from  1814  to  1817,  the  same  salary  being- 
voted:  "half  the  amount  of  S2  a  Sabbath  be  paid  at  the  end 
of  the  first  six  months,  and  the  remainder  at  the  close  of  the 
year."  A  portion  of  this  time  he  lixed  in  two  rooms  of  the 
house  of  Capt.  Phineas  Sprague,  on  Main  Street,  opposite 
Ell  Pond,  now  occupied  by  Samuel  H.  Nowell. 


138  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Considering  the  salary  received  we  are  not  surprised  to  learn  that 
Mr.  Wiley  worked  through  the  week  at  his  trade,  that  of  shoe-making, 
often  with  a  book  open  before  him  studying  to  prepare  for  the  next 
Sunday's  services. ^ 

During  his  term  of  service,  in  1815,  a  revival  took  place, 
during-  which  time,  he  was  aided  by  the  famous  Father  Taylor 
of  Boston. 

In  consequence  of  continued  interest  and  success,  this  same 
year  a  Church  was  organized;  and  in  18 18,  while  Rev.  Orlando 
Hinds  was  pastor,  a  meeting-house  was  built  at  the  junction 
of  Main  Street,  with  Green  Street,  then  a  portion  of  the  old 
Reading  Road.  This  edifice  was  thirty  feet  long  by  thirty-two 
feet  wide.  Its  cost,  land  and  all,  was  §1,500.  The  subscrip- 
tion paper  circulated  for  this  object  was  headed  as  follows: 

Whereas,  it  is  for  the  improvement  and  good  of  the  public,  as  well 
as  for  the  salvation  and  comfort  of  individuals,  to  support  public 
worship  and  provide  religious  instruction,  and  as  it  is  necessary  for  the 
comfort  of  those  who  meet  for  divine  service  to  have  suitable  places  to 
assemble  in,  the  members  and  friends  of  the  Methodist  Society  in 
North  Maiden  are  resolved  to  build  in  said  town,  a  house  for  public 
worship  on  the  following  conditions: 

These  conditions  were  that  the  house  was  to  be  a  neat,  com- 
fortable one,  with  free  seats,  and  to  be  in  charge  of  certain 
trustees,  according  to  the  discipline  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church.  Mr.  Hinds,  who  still  received  the  same  munifi- 
cent salary  of  $2  per  Sabbath,  headed  the  petition  with  the 
sum  of  $20.  This  was  self-denial  indeed!  Others  gave  from 
$1  to  $40. 

In  1 819,  Re\-.  Isaac  Jennison  became  the  pastor,  during 
whose  term  of  three  \'ears,  a  very  stirring  re\-ival  took  place; 
services  were  held  morning,  noon  and  night  for  several  weeks 
in  succession. 

In  1820,  Rev.  Ephraim  Wiley  again  preached  for  a  year, 
being  sent  this  time  by  the  Methodist  Conference.  Next  in 
succession  came  Rev.  Messrs.  Leonard  Frost,  E.  Steel,  John 
Adams,  Samuel  Norris,  Serene  Fisk,  Thomas  F.  Norris,  and 
Aaron  Josselyn. 

About  this  time,  1827,  certain  members  became  dissatisfied 
with  the  form  of  government  existing  in  the  Methodist  Epis- 
copal Church;  trials  and   troubles  began;  and   quite  a  number 

1  Mrs.  Frank  J.  Hunt  in  Melrose  Journal,  Nov.  3,  1S88. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  139 

of  the  members  withdrew  and  formed  the  second  religious 
society,  the  Protestant  Methodist  Church.  This  was  m  1828. 
The  end  of  this  movement  is  o-iven  in  the  history  of  the  First 
Baptist  Church. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  under  the  successive  pas- 
torates, then  varying  from  one  to  two  years  in  length,  of  Rev. 
Messrs.  Geo.  W.  Fairbanks,  LaRo>'  Sunderland,  Ezra  Sprague, 
R.  D.  Estabrook,  Ebenezer  Ireson,  J.  T.  Burrill,  S.  Osgood 
Wright,  Timothy  Merritt,  James  Mudge,  Ralph  W.  Allen, 
David  Culver,  Henry  B.  Skinner,  C.  Hayward  and  Walter 
Wilkie,  continued  to  occupy  their  meeting-house  until  1842, 
when,  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  William  Rice,  the  building 
was  enlarged,  improved,  and  rededicated  November  30,  of  that 
year.  The  first  sexton  was  hired  in  1837,  at  a  salary  of  $10 
per  annum.  Then  followed  in  succession  as  pastors,  Rev. 
Messrs.  Daniel  Richards,  Henry  M.  Bridge,  Nathaniel  Bemis, 
John  C.  Ingalls,  Francis  A.  Griswold,  John  M.  Merrill,  Mark 
Staples,  W'illiam  H.  Hatch,  James  Shepard,  W'illiam  C.  High 
and  John  W.  Perkins.  This  enlarged  house  of  worship  con- 
tinued to  be  occupied  until  1857,  when  it  was  sold  to  George 
F.  Boardman,  mo\-ed  to  near  the  corner  of  Main  and  Essex 
Streets,  changed  into  "  Concert  Hall,"  and  was  destroyed  by 
fire,  November  30,  1875,  with  Boardman's  Block,  just  thirty- 
three  }-ears  from  the  da\'  it  was  dedicated. 

Mr.  Perkins  was  stationed  here  in  1854.  A  new  edifice  being 
much  needed  for  the  growing  Church,  he  succeeded  in  raising 
money,  sufficient  to  accomplish  the  object;  a  building  com- 
mittee was  appointed,  but  "the  iron  law  of  itinerac\' "  removed 
Mr.  Perkins,  and  the  work  was  completed  under  the  pastorate 
of  his  successor.  Rev.  Nathan  D.  George. 

The  edifice  was  completed  and  dedicated  April  i,  1857,  the 
Rev.  E.  O.  Haven,  D.  D.,  preaching  the  dedication  sermon. 
The  land  on  which  the  church  stands  was  given  by  Isaac 
Emerson,  father  of  the  late  Isaac  Emerson,  Jr.,  and  of  George 
Emerson,  Richard  Watson  Emerson  and  Mrs.  John  Massey, 
still  with  us.  The  clock  in  the  audience  room  was  the  gift  of 
Rev.  Frederick  Upham,  D.  D.,  a  nati\e  and  former  resident  of 
our  town. 

The  first  pastor  settled  in  the  new  Meeting-house  was  Rev. 
J.  Augustus  Adams.  He  was  followed  in  1859  by  Rew  H.  V. 
Degen,  and    in    i860   by   Abraham    D.   Merrill.     Jeremiah   L. 


140 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Hanaford  was  pastor,  1861-62;  George  Prentice,  1863-64; 
Henry  Baker,  1865-67;  Frank  K.  Stratton,  1868-69;  M.  Emory 
Wright,  1870-72;  (length  of  pastorate  now  extended  to  three 
3^ears,  if  desired,)  A.  VV.  Mills,  1873-74;  S.  B.  Sweetser,  1875- 
76;  Isaac  H.  Packard,  1877-79;  William  Butler,  D.  D.,  1880-82; 
John  D.  Pickles,  1883-85;  Samuel  Jackson,  1886-90;  (pastorate 
now  five  years  if  desired,)  Charles  E.  Davis,  1891-96;  Joel  M. 
Leonard,  1897-1900,  and  Charles  H.  Stackpole,  I90i,and  is  the 
present  pastor. 


^ 


■SB?""*—-- 


METHODIST  Kl'ISCUPAL  CHURCH  AM)  PARSONAGE. 

The  church  edifice  was  remodelled  during  the  pastorate  of 
Rc\'.  S.  B.  Sweetzer,  when  the  church  parlor,  choir  gallery  and 
a  kitchen  were  added;  and  the  rc-opcning  serxices  were  held 
November  19,  1876.  The  present  membership  of  the  Church  is 
as  follows:  Full  members,  568;  members  on  probation,  40; 
total,  608. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  141 

The  fiftieth  anniversary  of  the  introduction  of  Methodism 
into  the  town,  was  celebrated  in  1862,  during  the  pastorate  of 
the  late  Rev.  Jeremiah  L.  Hanaford,  long  a  resident  and 
honored  citizen  of  Melrose;  sermon  by  Elder  Aaron  Sargent. 
The  seventy-fifth  anniversary  of  the  formation  of  the  Church 
was  observed  in  1888,  Rev.  Samuel  Jackson,  pastor.  Bishop 
Randolph  S.  Foster,  D.  D.,  preached  the  anniversary  sermon. 

The  first  parsonage  of  this  church,  was  the  long-time  resi- 
dence of  one  of  its  old  members,  Isaac  Emerson,  situated  on 
Main  street,  on  land  adjoining  the  church  lot,  Mr.  Emerson 
died  April  18,  1861,  aged  72  years.  He  was  one  of  the  first 
contributors  to  the  enterprise  in  181 3,  and  was  the  first  Town 
Treasurer,  after  Melrose  was  incorporated  in  1850.  A  new 
and  handsome  parsonage  was  built  on  the  site  of  the  old  one 
in  1890,  which  cost  $5,700  above  the  land. 

During  the  year  1897,  '^  was  found  that  the  graceful  steeple 
had  become  somewhat  decayed  and  rendered  unsafe;  there- 
fore it  was  cut  off  down  to  the  bell-tower,  thus  lea\ing  it  less 
pleasing  to  the  eye  than  fomerly.  As  the  church  building 
was  fast  getting  too  small  for  the  increasing  membership 
and  parish,  a  movement  was  begun  this  same  year,  looking 
toward  the  building  of  a  new  edifice,  which  was  so  generously 
and  enthusiastically  received,  that  undoubtedly,  a  larger  and 
handsomer  one  will  take  the  place  of  the  old  one  in  the  near 
future,  as  a  large  sum  is  already  pledged  and  on  deposit  for 
that  purpose. 

During  the  ministry  of  Rev.  Samuel  Jackson,  1 886-90, 
several  young  men  belonging  to  this  Church,  moved  with  a 
missionary  spirit,  began  work  in  the  somewhat  retired  district 
situated  southwest  of  Swain's  Pond,  and  east  of  Lebanon 
Street.  Their  labors  were  fruitful;  religious  services  were 
held,  a  Sabbath  School  begun,  and  in  1891,  a  chapel  was 
erected  on  Swain's  Pond  Avenue,  and  dedicated  December 
20,  of  that  year,  by  Rev.  J,  H.  Mansfield,  D.  D.,  Presiding 
Elder  of  the  Lynn  District. 

The  late  Charles  Pratt,  in  his  will,  left  SiO.OOO  to  the 
Stewards  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  Melrose,  to 
be  used  for  "  Christian  Missions."  This  was  the  amount  his 
estate  was  to  receive  after  his  death,  for  the  sale  of  his  old 
farm  homestead  on  Lebanon  Street,  to  the  Town  of  Melrose, 
for  cemetery  purposes;  the  town  giving  its  note  for  the  same, 


142  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

and  Mr.  Pratt  to  receive  the  interest  only  during  his  remaining 
years.  Out  of  this  generous  bequest,  this  Swain's  Pond  Chapel 
was  built;  and  it  is  very  appropriately  named  "The  Pratt 
Memorial."  A  Sabbath  School  and  religious  services  were 
sustained  in  this  chapel  by  the  Methodist  Church  for  a  num- 
ber of  years,  but  it  has  now  been  leased  b}'  the  Congregational 
Church  of  Maplewood,  Rev.  Charles  S.  Macfarland,  pastor. 

The  Sabbath  School  of  the  parent  Church,  the  oldest  one  in 
Melrose,  was  first  organized  in  June,  1824,  under  the  pastorate 
of  Rev.  Samuel  Norris,  who  acted  as  superintendent.  It 
numbered  thirty  members  all  told,  and  in  August,  a  library- 
was  bought  consisting  of  thirteen  \olumes,  only  one  being  a 
bound  book.  Among  its  superintendents,  the  late  Fernando 
C.  Taylor  held  that  office  for  a  period  of  twenty-five  years. 
The  present  membership  of  the  School,  with  officers  and  teach- 
ers, is  506,  and  Francis  P.  Luce  is  the  present  superintendent. 
It  has  a  library  of  600  \olumes. 

Still  another  Sabbath  School  is  connected  with  the  Metho- 
dist Church.  This  is  known  as  the  "  East  Side  Mission."  It 
is  held,  together  with  weekly  religious  exercises,  in  the  old 
school-house,  built  in  1856,  on  Upham  Street,  near  East  Street. 
It  has  167  members,  and  VV,  DeHa\'en  Jones  is  the  superin- 
tendent. This  makes  a  total  Sabbath  School  membership 
under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  of 
960.  Affiliated  with  the  East  Side  Mission  is  the  East  Side 
Ladies'  Aid  Association. 

The  affiliated  societies  of  the  Church  are  the  Epworth 
League,  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  Woman's  Home 
Missionar\^  Society,  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society,  the  Maternal 
Association  and  the  Methodist  Brotherhood. 

The  Melrose  Orthodox  Congreg.\tioxal  Church.  Very 
earh'  in  the  present  century,  and  long  before  the  Orthodox 
Church  was  formed,  preaching  services  were  held  occasional!)' 
by  Congregational  ministers,  either  in  the  little  old  unpaintcd 
school-house,  situated  on  the  old  road,  now  Lebanon  Street, 
on  a  knoll  then  existing  very  near  where  now  lives  Deacon 
John  Buffum,  or,  in  the  parlors  of  some  North  Maldenite. 
These  were  generally  conducted  by  the  resident  pastor  of  the 
Maiden  Centre  Church. 

By  the  >-ear  1848,  after  the  Railroad  had  been  opened  from 
Boston   to    Lawrence,   it  was    found    tliat    (]uite'   a   number    of 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  143 

members  of  Congregational  Churches  had  become  residents  of 
North  Maiden;  besides  others,  not  members,  whose  sympathies 
were  in  this  direction;  and  soon  religious  ser\^ices  began  to  be 
held;  first,  in  the  house  of  Dr.  Levi  Gould,  then  living  on  Main 
Street,  opposite  the  present  Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  in 
the  house  now  standing  and  belonging  to  the  heirs  of  the  late 
George  W.  Farnsworth.  There  are  those  now  living  who  well 
remember  these  services,  and  the  part  they  took  in  preparing 
for  them;  among  them  Levi  S.  Gould  and  Edwin  C.  Gould; 
these  young  boys  brought  chairs  from  the  neighbors'  houses, 
to  accommodate  the  audiences.  Previous  to  these  meetings. 
Dr.  Gould  would  often  take  some  one  of  like  persuasion  in  his 
chaise,  and  attend  church;  sometimes  in  Stoneham  and  some- 
times in  Wakefield. 

After  two,  possibly  three,  of  these  Sunday  services  at  Dr. 
Gould's  the  parlors  of  Deacon  Jonathan  Cochran,  on  Grove 
Street,  being  larger,  were  opened  for  these  meetings;  and 
here,  April  25,  1848,  began  the  first  preaching  services,  bv 
Rev.  Stillman  Pratt,  who  afterwards  became  the  first  settled 
pastor.  After  a  few  weeks,  the  audiences  increasing  mean- 
while, the  passenger  room  of  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad 
Station  was  obtained  for  this  purpose;  and  here  was  formed 
the  Sunday  School,  with  James  L.  Crosett  acting  as  leader. 
This  was  in  the  days  of  quiet,  before  the  ad\ent  of  Sunday 
trains!  Here  w^ere  held  preaching  services,  and  the  sessions 
of  the  Sunday  School  for  several  weeks.  This  building  still 
stands  on  Essex  Street,  and  is  now  used  as  the  freight  depot. 

Steps  were  soon  taken  for  the  organization  of  a  Church,  and 
a  preliminary  meeting  of  brethren  was  held  Ma_v  21,  1848, 
when  the  Articles  of  Faith  and  Covenant,  as  held  bv  the 
Church  of  Stoneham  were  adopted;  and  a  committee  consist- 
ing of  Jonathan  Cochran  and  James  L.  Crosett,  was  appointed 
to  call  a  Council  of  Churches  to  advise,  and  if  deemed  ex- 
pedient, to  form  a  Church  in  accordance  with  the  Congre- 
gational form.  The  Council  met  in  the  Academy  Building, 
then  on  Berwick  Street,  afterwards  moved  to  Main  Street, 
and  known  as  Lyceum  Hall,  on  July  ii,  1848.  The  Churches 
represented  were  from  Reading,  Wakefield,  Maiden,  Stone- 
ham, Lynnfield,  Chelsea,  P2verett,  then  South  Maiden,  Saugus, 
and  Medford.  The  Council  approxx-d  the  proposed  plan,  and 
the  Melrose  Orthodox  Congregational  Church  was  then  organ- 


144  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

ized,  with  reading  of  the  minutes,  invocation,  consecrating 
prayer,  sermon  by  Rev.  Isaac  P.  Langworthy,  and  other  cus- 
tomary exercises. 

The  Rev.  Stillman  Pratt  became  the  first  pastor,  being 
called  April  i8,  and  was  installed  May  17,  1849.  He  had 
acted  as  their  minister  for  several  months  previous.  Mr. 
Pratt  took  part  in  the  Bi-Centennial  Celebration  of  Maiden, 
which  occurred  May  23,  1849,  writing  an  original  hymn  for 
the  occasion,  which  was  sung  to  the  tune  of  "  North  Bend," 
two  stanzas  of  which  follow: 

Two  hundred  years  have  rolled  away 

Since  here  our  fathers  came  ; 
And  we  their  sons  come  here  to-day 

To  celebrate  their  fame. 

God  of  the  nations  !  in  Thy  sight 

A  thousand  years  are  one, — 
Oh  !  here  defend  us  b)'  Thy  might, 

Then  take  us  to  thy  throne. 

The  original    members,  twehe  in    number,  who    joined    by 
letter  from  other  churches,  July  ii,  were  as  follows: 
Jonathan  Cochran,  Levi   Gould, 

Mary  Cochran,  Tristram   Bird, 

Seth   Rich,  Sylva  Bird, 

James   L.  Crosett,  Mary  S.  Manning, 

Elizabeth  D.  Crosett,  Mary  R.  Pratt, 

Lucinda  Howard,  Olive  Carey. 

Only  one  of  these  members  is  now  living,  Mrs.  Elizabeth 
D.  Crosett,  now  of  San  Francisco,  California;  she  was  one  of 
the  Sunday  School  teachers,  and  one  of  the  choir  singers. 
Some  moved  away,  taking  letters  to  other  churches.  Dr. 
Gould  died  January  6,  1850;  Deacon  Cochran  died  January  6, 
1885,  aged  93  years  and  6  months,  having  been  deacon  thirt}-- 
six  years;  all  the  others  who  remained  in  Melrose  have  joined 
the  "  silent  majority," 

Very  soon  after  the  Church  was  formed,  a  movement  was 
made  to  build  a  meeting-house,  which  was  accomplished 
through  the  unwearied  efforts  of  Dr.  Le\"i  Gould,  Dea.  Jonathan 
Cochran,  James  L.  Crosett  and  others,  who  not  only  solicited 
contributions,  but  two  of  them  at  least,  Dr.  Gould  and  Dea. 
Cochran  worked  on  the  foundations  of  the  building  with  pick 
and  shovel.     Land  was  bought  on  West  Foster  Street,  the  meet- 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  145 

ing-house  commenced  in  October,  184S,  and  completed  and 
dedicated  May  17,  1849;  but  services  had  been  held  in  the  ves- 
try as  soon  as  it  was  completed,  March  11,  about  two  months 
before.  The  land  and  building  cost  $3,500  ;  of  this  amount  the 
society  raised  about  S400,  among  themselves,  S600  was  con- 
tributed by  members  of  neighboring  churches,  and  the  remain- 
ing $2,500  was  placed  on  mortgage.  For  four  >'ears  after  its 
organization  the  Church  was  aided  in  its  current  expenses,  in 
sums  ranging  from  S44  to  S200  per  annum,  a  total  of  S619, 
by  the  Massachusetts  Home  Missionary  Society.  The  Church 
then,  in  1852,  numbered  twenty-four  members. 

Concerning  the  early  days  of  its  history  the  first  Church 
Manual,  published  in  1859,  has  the  following: 

Very  much  was  due  in  the  early  history  of  the  church  and  in  results 
reached,  under  God,  to  the  earnest  and  faithful  labors  of  the  first 
pastor,  Rev.  Stillman  Pratt,  and  the  brethren  associated  with  him. 
It  should  also  be  added,  as  showing  that  God  has  carried  us  through 
dark  days,  that  in  the  early  part  of  1853,  the  Meeting  House  was  taken 
possession  of  by  the  mortgagee,  and  with  heavy  hearts  brethren 
removed  the  furniture  of  the  pews.  This  gentleman,  however,  made  a 
liberal  offer  to  the  society,  and  by  earnest  and  continued  efforts,  a  sum 
sufficient  to  satisfy  the  mortgagee  was  raised,  chiefly  among  them- 
selves, and  liberal  friends  in  Boston  and  elsewhere,  and  possession  of 
the  house  resumed. 

And  from  the  Revised  Manual  oi  1892: 

It  is  difficult  at  the  present  time  to  realize  all  that  this  first  venture 
meant  to  the  few  brave  souls  who  constituted  the  little  church.  They 
were  but  a  handful  and  gave  literally  "  of  their  poverty  that  others 
might  be  rich."  The  population  was  sparse,  and  the  territory  only  a 
few  oldtime  farms,  with  here  and  there  rocky  ledges,  rough  bits"  of 
pasture,  and  clumps  of  stunted  pine. 

This  little  original  white-painted  church  edifice,  with  its 
clock  and  steeple,  was  enlarged,  remodelled,  and  made  over 
into  a  building  of  Gothic  architectural  design  during  the  year 

1858,  at    a   cost  of   Si0,000.     It  was    re-dedicated    January  5, 

1859,  with    a    sermon    by    Rev.    Edward    N.   Kirk,    D.    D.^    of 
Boston. 

There  is  no  view  of  the  original  church  building  in  existence. 
In  one  of  its  small  vestries,  a  part  of  the  town's  primar\- 
school  was  held  one  or  more  seasons.  There  are  yet  members 
of  the  Church  and  congregation,  whose  memory  clusters  around 


146 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


the  past  events,  and  who  bring  to  mind  the  pleasant  scenes  and 
occurences  which  took  place  in  the  little  white  church  during 
its  history  before  its  absorption  in  the  more  stately  structure. 


ORTHODOX  CONGKIiGATIONAL  CHCRCn.     I-rom  Painting  by  T.  C.  Bartholomew. 

The  remodeled  church  was  burned  Februar}-  it,  1869.  In 
the  picture  will  be  obser\-ed  a  small  house  which  was  consumed 
at  the  same  time.  This  stood  where  now  stands  the  residence 
of  Mrs.  Emma  Burnham.  It  was  then  a  tenement  containing 
two  families,  and  it  has  a  somewhat  interesting  history.  The 
original  building  was  the  little  iui}jainted  school-house,  before 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  147 

spoken  of,  and  which  is  minutely  described  in  the  chapter  on 
"  Educational  History."  It  was  not  only  the  school-house  in 
those  early  days,  but  various  religious  services  were  often  held 
therein,  before  any  church  building  existed.  It  was  after- 
wards bought,  in  1828,  by  the  Methodist  Protestant  Society, 
moved  to  the  corner  of  Main  and  Upham  (then  Church) 
Streets,  where  it  remained  until  that  society  built  its  new 
church  in  1842;  meanwhile  having  become  often  called  the 
"  Duck  Pen."  It  was  then  moved  to  the  corner  of  Myrtle 
and  West  Foster  Streets,  and  there  burned,  as  stated.  Not  at 
all  disheartened  at  this  calamity,  the  society  immediately 
took  steps  to  build  another  church.  Subscriptions  were  made, 
a  large  lot  of  land  containing  48,800  square  feet,  at  the  corner 
of  West  Foster  and  Willow  Streets,  and  adjoining  the  old 
church  lot,  was  purchased,  and  the  corner-stone  laid  November 
24,  1869.  On  this  occasion,  an  address  was  made  by  the 
pastor,  Rev.  Albert  G.  Bale,  an  historical  statement  made  by 
Deacon  Calvin  N.  Chapin,  and  a  box  containing  a  variety  of 
articles,  coins,  newspapers,  the  Melrose  Memonal,  etc.,  was 
placed  beneath  the  stone.  The  church  was  finished  and  dedi- 
cated October  26,  1870,  with  a  sermon  by  the  pastor,  and  an 
address  by  Rev.  Isaac  P.  Langworthv. 

During  its  erection  public  worship  was  held  in  Lyceum 
Hall,  Main  Street,  formerly  the  old  Melrose  Academy,  on 
Berwick  Street,  in  which  the  Church  was  first  organized  and 
where  some  of  its  services  were  held.  The  land  and  building 
cost  $42,000.  Extensive  repairs  were  made  in  1890,  during 
which  time  a  handsome  memorial  window  was  placed  in  the 
front  vestibule,  by  Maurice  G.  Cochrane,  in  honor  of  his 
grandfather,  Jonathan  Cochran,  so  long  its  senior  deacon. 

The  first  pastor,  Mr.  Pratt,  resigned  in  April,  185 1,  and  Rev. 
Isaac  H.  Northrop  was  installed  January  15,  1852.  He  was 
dismissed  in  March,  1853,  and  the  Rev.  Alexander  J.  Sessions 
was  installed  in  January,  1854.  His  relationship  ceased  in 
1858,  and  Rev.  P:dward  H.  Buck  became  the  pastor.  He  died 
January  31,  1861.  Rev.  Henry  A.  Stevens  succeeded,  being 
ordained  September  12,  1861,  remaining  until  May,  1868.  He 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Albert  G.  Bale,  who  was  ordained 
December  3,  1868.  After  an  unusually  long  pastorate  of 
twenty-seven  and  a  half  \-ears,  Mr.  Bale  resigned  in  Ma>-,  1S96, 
remaining  until  July  15. 


148  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  Church,  held  ]\Ia}'  4.  at  which  time 
his  resignation  was  accepted,  the  following  resolutions  were 
presented  by  Elbridge  H.  Goss,  and  adopted. 

Whereas.  The  Rev.  Albert  G.  Bale  having  resigned  the  pastorate 
of  the  Melrose  Orthodox  Congregational  Church,  and  the  same  having 
been  accepted,  it  is  fitting  that  some  expression  of  the  relations  that 
have  existed  between  us  for  a  period  of  over  twenty-seven  j-ears,  be 
adopted  b}'  us  here  assembled  ;  therefore ; 

Resolved,  That  it  is  with  deep  feelings  of  regret  that  the  pleasant 
ties  that  have  so  long  existed  between  pastor  and  people  are  now  to 
be  sundered.  He  has  been  in  and  out  with  us,  these  many  years,  in 
our  sorrows  and  in  our  joys;  -our  cheerful  and  helpful  counsellor  both 
to  young  and  old;  has  given  aid  and  comfort,  unreservedly,  wherever 
and  whenever  needed. 

Resolved,  That  to  whatever  station  in  life  he  may  hereafter  be 
called,  we  can  recommend  him  as  a  scholar  of  high  cultureand  deep 
experience ;  a  thinker,  sound  and  logical ;  a  mind,  well  stored  from 
wide  reading  and  travel;  in  knowledge,  profound  and  far-reaching. 

Resolved,  That  we  can  testify  to  a  walk  in  life  among  his  people, 
with  a  character  unimpeachable ;  unstained  by  the  faintest  breath  of 
suspicion ;  a  heart  ever  open  to  distress ;  full  of  kindliest  sympathy ; 
a  disposition  the  most  charitable ;  in  short,  a  man  bearing  away  with 
him  the  universal  respect  and  admiration  of  all  with  whom  he  has 
been  associated,  whether  of  our  church  and  parish,  or  of  his  fellow 
townsmen. 

Resolved.  That  it  is  the  heart}^  desire  of  this  Church,  that  wherever 
his  lot  may  be  cast,  the  choicest  blessings  of  God  may  be  with  him  and 
his ;  that  the  consolation  and  sustaining  influence  of  that  religion  he 
has  so  earnestly  and  faithfully  set  before  his  people,  may  be  experi- 
enced by  him  through  the  remaining  years  of  his  life. 

Resolved.  That  these  resolutions  be  spread  upon  the  Church  rec- 
ords, and  that  a  copy  of  the  same  be  sent  to  the  Rev.  A.  G.  Bale,  by 
the  Clerk  of  the  Church. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Church  held  March  3,  1897,  a  call  was 
extended  to  Rev.  Thomas  Sims,  D.  D.,  late  of  Toronto,  Canada, 
to  become  its  pastor;  and  at  a  special  meeting  of  the  Society 
held  March  18,  the  action  of  the  Church  was  concurred  in. 
The  services  of  installation  were  waived,  and  in  their  stead  a 
mutual  agreement  for  a  three  years'  pastorate  was  made,  and 
the  services  of  recognition  were  held  May  25,  1897.  ^^' 
dresses  were  made  by  Rev.  R.  A.  Beard,  D.  D.,  Rev.  George 
A.  Tewksbury,  Rev.  J.  Cooper  Antliff,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Joel  M. 
Leonard,  Ph.  D.,  Rev.  Burke  F.  Lea\itt,  Deacon  W'illiam  Mc- 
Cartney, and  the  Pastor. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY. 


149 


From  the  day  the  Church  was  organized  to  the  present, 
year  by  year,  members  have  joined  by  letter,  and  by  profes- 
sion of  faith;  members  have  died,  or  have  removed  to  other 
parts  of  the  land;  many  have  been  dismissed  to  other  churches, 
but  there  has   been  a  constantly  increasing  growth  until  the 


OkTHUUUX  CONGKEGATIOXAI,  CHIKCH. 


present  time,  when  the  membership  is  496.  Since  the  Church 
was  organized  there  have  been  connected  with  it  nine  hundred 
and  seventy-nine  (979)  members;  fixe  hundred  and  eight}'-two 
(582)  came  by  letters  from  other  churches,  and  three  hundred 
and  ninety-se\'en  (397)  by  profession  of  faith. 


150  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

The  Sunday  School  was  organized  in  the  Melrose  Depot,  in 
1S48,  when  it  had  but  few  scholars,  and  was  under  the  leader- 
ship of  James  L.  Crosett.  As  soon  as  the  vestry  of  the  church 
was  sufficiently  advanced  to  allow  the  Sabbath  School  to 
meet  and  organize  therein,  Dr.  Le^"i  Gould  became  the  first 
superintendent.  From  that  time  the  school  has  prospered, 
increasing  year  by  year  until  the  present,  when  it  numbers  558 
members,  divided  into  primary,  junior  and  senior  departments. 
Some  five  years  ago  a  home  department  was  organized,  and  is 
now  under  the  superintendency  of  Dea.  Frank  G.  Kellogg, 
with  over  two  hundred  members.  This  consists  of  such  per- 
sons as  cannot  well  attend  the  Sunday  School  sessions  con- 
tinuously, but  receive  the  quarterlies  used  in  the  school,  agree- 
ing to  study  the  lesson  at  least  a  half  hour  each  week.  In 
connection  with  this  department  are  twenty-four  messenger 
bo}^s  and  a  "Sunshine  Band"  of  thirty-three  members.  The 
total  membership  of  the  school  is  766. 

The  Melrose  Orthodox  Congregational  Society  was  incor- 
porated under  the  General  Statutes,  July  8,  1848,  at  which 
time,  a  meeting  having  been  duly  warned,  a  constitution  and 
by-laws  were  adopted.  The  following  persons  were  present 
and  signed  the  constitution: 

Stillman  Pratt,  James  L.  Crosett, 

Tristram  Bird,  Moses  Parker, 

Seth  Rich,  Joseph  E.  Stanwood, 

Jonathan  Cochran,  John  Mclntire, 

Levi  Gould,  Nelson  Cochran. 

Dr.  Levi  Gould  was  chosen  first  clerk  of  \.ht  Society.  Here 
are  two  distinct  but  closely  allied  bodies,  Church  and  Society, 
each  having  an  entirely  different  set  of  officers.  The  Church, 
with  pastor,  deacons,  deaconesses,  church  benevolence  and 
missionary  committees,  having  jurisdiction  over  the  preaching 
and  prayer-meeting  services,  the  choosing  of  the  officers  of  the 
Sunday  School,  the  communion  table,  benevolent  contribu- 
tions, and  care  of  the  poor  of  the  Church.  The  Society  has 
general  care  and  charge  of  all  parish  propert\',  builds  the 
edifice,  raises  all  moneys  for  parish  expenses,  and  unites  with 
the  Church  in  calling  or  dismissing  a  pastor. 

In  1882,  a  handsome  parsonage  was  erected  on  the  site  of 
the  old  church,  from  architectural  plans  made  by  the  then 
pastor,  Rev.  Mr.  Bale,  at  a  cost  of  S6,ooo. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY. 


151 


The  twenty-fifth  anniversary  of  the  organization  of  the 
Church  was  recognized  in  June,  1873,  with  an  historical  ser- 
mon by  the  pastor,  Mr.  Bale;  as  was  also  the  fortieth  anni- 
versary, when  an  historical  sermon  was  delivered  by  Mr. 
Bale;-  and  on  Sunday  the  19th.  and  Monday  the  20th  of  June, 
1898,  Church,  Society,  and  Sunday  School  joined  in  celebrating 
the  fiftieth  anniversary.  A  sermon  appropriate  to  the  occa- 
sion was  preached  by  the  pastor,  Rev.  Thomas  Sims,  D.  D., 
and  addresses  were  made  b>-  Rev.  Daniel  March,  D.  D.,  Rev. 
Charles  H.  Daniels,  D.  D.,  and  Rev.  Smith  Baker,  D.  D.  Two 
past  pastors  were  present.  Rev.  Albert  G.  Bale,  and  Rev- 
Henry  A.  Stevens,  both  of  whom  took  part  in  the  exercises. 
Also  the  living  past  superintendents  of  the  Sunday  School, 
whose  names  and  terms  of  service  are  as  follows: 

Deacon  Calvin  N.  Chapin,   1854  to  1S69. 

Deacon  Curtis  C.  Goss,  January,  1S69,  to  January,  1874. 

Elbridge  H.  Goss,  January,  1874,  to  January,  1875. 

Stephen  A.  Lovejoy,  July,  1877,  to  January,  1878. 

Deacon  Calvin  N.  Chapin,  January,  1878,  to  January,  1879. 

John  M.  Small,  January,  1879,  to  Januar>',  1880. 

Stephen  A.  Lovejoy,  January,  1880,  to  January,  1882. 

Deacon  Curtis  C.  Goss,  January,  1882,  to  July,  1884. 

Albert  B.  Franklin,  July,  1884,  to  July,  1887. 

George  L.  Morse,  July,  1887,  to  July,  1890. 

Don  E.  Curtis,  Jul>',  1890,  to  July,  1893. 


-  This  sermon  was  printed  in  the 
Melrose  Journal.  His  text  was 
Deut.  viii,  2:  "And  thou  shalt 
remember  all  the  way  which  the 
Lord  thy  God  led  thee  these  forty 
years."  Two  extracts  follow: 
"  Through  the  mists  of  forty  years 
shines  a  beautiful  picture,  when  on 
that  Sabbath  moruing  the  fathers 
and  mothers  of  this  Church  met  for 
the  first  time  in  the  room  of  the 
old  Melrose  Passenger  Depot  for 
the  public  worship  of  God.  It 
seems  more  like  a  missionary  meet- 
ing  on   the    western  frontier   than 


But  forty  years  ago  no  such  charm- 
ing picture  of  suburban  life  met 
the  eye,  as  now,  from  the  crest  of 
any  one  of  these  hills.  Main  Street 
was  then,  as  at  present,  part  of  the 
main  turnpike  between  Boston  and 
Reading.  Essex  Street  extended, 
then,  only  as  far  as  Main  Street  on 
the  east,  and  ending  on  the  west  in 
a  cart-road  leading  into  the  woods. 
On  the  west  side  of  the  railroad 
was  a  continuous  road  from  the 
Highlands.  Upham  and  Howard 
Streets  were  the  old  roads  to  Sau- 
gus.     There  was  not,  at  that  time. 


the  meeting   of    a    Congregational  a  single  house  on  Wyoming  Hill, 

Church  in  old  Massachusetts  —  on  which  was  then  a  rocky  blueberry 

one  of  its  main  railroad  lines,  and  pasture." 
onlv  seven  miles  from  Boston.   .   .   . 


152  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Rev.  John  L.  Kilbon,  jr.,  July,  1893,  to  July,  1894. 
Don  E.  Curtis,  July,  1894,  to  July,  1897. 
Frank  G.  Kellogg,  July,  1897,  ^o  July,  1900. 
Don  E.  Curtis,  July,  1900.  to  July,  1902. 
George  A.  Manning,  July,  1902. 

Many  former  residents  and  members  took  the  occasion  to 
visit  and  renew  the  acquaintances  of  their  old  church  home. 

The  affiliated  societies  of  this  Church  are  as  follows:  Young 
People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  Junior  Young  People's 
Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  and  Woman's  Union. 

Under  this  head  all  other  affiliated  societies,  benevolent  and 
social,  each  having  its  separate  superintendent  or  president, 
are  as  follows:  Foreign  Missions;  Home  Missions;  Social 
Committee;  Altruist  Committee;  Music  Committee;  and  House- 
keeping Committee. 

The  present  officers  of  the  Church  are:  Deacons,  Calvin  N. 
Chapin,  John  Buffum,  Elbridge  H.  Goss,  Moses  S.  Page, 
Thomas  H.  Tucker,  George  R.  Jones,  Frank  G.  Kellogg, 
Danforth  D.  Stratton  and  Albert  B.  Franklin.  Deaconesses, 
Mrs.  Florence  M.  Whitman,  Mrs.  Frances  A.  Brackett,  Mrs. 
Caroline  M.  Cox,  Miss  Susan  P.  Harrold  and  Mrs.  Frances  J. 
Grout.  Clerk,  Isaac  A.  Cochran.  Treasurer,  John  Buffum. 
Auditor,  Wingate  P.  Sargent. 

Previous  Church  clerks  as  follows:  Dr.  Levi  Gould  served 
from  July  ii,  1848,  to  January,  1850;  Samuel  Harris,  June," 
1850,  to  Jul>%  1854;  Edward  P.  Nevins,  July,  1854,  to  January, 
1861;  Elbridge  H.  Goss,  January,  1861,  to  December  29,  1874; 
Isaac  A.  Cochran,  December  29,  1874.  and  is  the  present 
clerk. 

The  present  officers  of  the  Societ\'  are:  Assessors,  John 
Buffum,  chairman,  Moses  S.  Page  and  George  R.  Jones. 
Treasurer  and  collector,  Elbridge  H.  Goss.  Clerk,  Lindley 
R.  Browne.  Auditor,  Isaac  A.  Cochran.  These  together  form 
the  prudential  committee,  and  ha\^e  the  general  charge  of  all 
parish  affairs.  Previous  treasurers:  Seth  Rich,  Dr.  Moses 
Parker  and  .'\lverse  L.  White,  who  served  from  1852  to  1867. 
Pre\ious  clerks:  Dr.  Le\i  Gould,  Nelson  Cochran  and  Curtis 
C.  Goss,  who  scr\ed  from  1866  to  1897.'^ 

^  Possibly  others  served  as  treas-  sou  Cochran  aud  Curtis  C.  Goss; 
urersbetweeuDr.ParkeraudA.lv.  but  names  cannot  be  giveu  as 
White,  aud  as  clerks  between  Nel-       records  were   burned  and   charred 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  153 

George  A.  Thompson  has  been  organist  of  the  Societ>^  for 
twenty-seven  years. 

In  the  year  1897,  the  Sunday  School  had  become  so  large 
that  the  chapel  could  not  accommodate  all  the  different 
departments;  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  have  the  inter- 
mediate department  meet  in  the  church  auditorium.  Just 
before  this,  in  September,  1896,  the  Altruists,  while  Frank 
G.  Kellogg  was  president,  inaugurated  a  movement  to  raise 
money  with  which  to  purchase  a  carpet  for  the  chapel,  and 
procure  some  decorations  for  its  walls,  which  resulted  in  raising 
a  moderate  but  insufificient  sum.  Soon  after,  under  the  en- 
thusiastic and  persistent  efforts  of  Mr.  Kellogg,  then  superin- 
tendent of  the  Sunday  School,  the  still  wider  purpose  of 
enlarging  the  chapel  was  adopted,  that  all  might  be  accomo- 
dated therein;  and  with  the  cooperation  of  the  church  and 
parish  committees,  a  s}'stem  of  weekly  oft'erings  b}'  Church 
and  Sunday  School  was  commenced  and  continued  through 
the  years  1897  and  1898,  which  resulted  in  raising  the  sum  of 
$2,500,  which  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  chapel  fund 
committee,  consisting  of  Frank  G.  Kellogg,  Don  E.  Curtis, 
Curtis  C.  Goss,  George  R.  Jones,  Franklin  P.  Shumway,  Isaac  A. 
Cochran  and  Elbridge  H.  Goss,  which  had  been  appointed  by 
the  Altruists.  By  a  renewed  effort,  continued  through  the 
year  1899,  the  sum  was  increased  to  $6,000  by  cash  and 
pledges. 

This  sum  was  deemed  sufficient  by  the  prudential  commit- 
tee to  warrant  the  Societ}'  to  proceed  with  the  alterations  and 
enlargement;  and  preliminar}-  plans  were  obtained  and  sub- 
mitted to  the  Parish  by  the  chapel  fund  committee;  and  at  a 
duly  called  meeting  of  the  Parish  the  following  were  chosen 
as  a  building  committee  :  ^Albert  B.  Franklin,  Chairman; 
George  R.  Jones,  John  Buffum,  John  jNI.  Small,  and  Lindley 
R.  Browne,  Clerk.  Messrs.  Hartwell,  Richardson  &  Driver, 
architects,  were  employed  by  this  committee,  and  new  plans 
were  made  b}'  them  for  the  enlargement,  and  when  submitted 
it  was  found  that  it  \\ould  require  a  much  larger  sum  than 
$6,000  to  accomplish  the  desired  object.  A  new  and  urgent 
effort  was  then  made,  asking  for  cash  contributions  and 
pledges    covering    the    period    of    one,  two    and    three    years. 

in  the  "Great  Fire"  of  November       collector    from   1S58  to  1867,  when 
9,  10,  1872.     E.   H.   Goss  served  as       the  offices  were  united. 


154  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

The  matter  was  presented  to  the  Society,  on  Sunday  morning, 
instead  of  the  regular  service,  by  Albert  B.  Franklin,  and  the 
sum  of  $10,000  was  raised,  which  added  to  the  amount  previ- 
ously raised  made  a  total  of  $i6,000.  This  result  was  received 
with  great  gratification.  Subsequent  pledges  raised  the  total 
to  $16,106.99. 

At  this  time,  the  spring  of  1900,  there  had  been  a  conviction 
growing  in  the  parish  and  community,  that  the  main  church 
building  was  in  an  unsafe  condition.  An  examination  by  the 
state  inspectors,  and  the  architects,  Messrs.  Hartwell,  Rich- 
ardson &  Driver,  resulted  in  the  building  being  condemned. 
Services  therein  were  at  once  prohibited  by  the  prudential 
committee.  Plans  for  the  strengthening  of  the  edifice  were  im- 
mediately made,  and  it  was  found  necessary  to  take  $5,677.22 
of  the  above  sum  raised  for  the  enlargement  of  the  chapel,  for 
this  purpose. 

A  contract  was  made  with  Angus  Mac  Donald,  and  under  the 
charge  of  the  building  committee,  this  strengthening  was 
accomplished  by  placing  eight  columns  from  the  foundation, 
with  cross-beams  in  the  auditorium.  A  new  chancel  was  con- 
structed, a  new  system  of  ventilation  for  both  church  and 
chapel  introduced,  new  windows  substituted,  and  the  interior 
re-plastered  and  re-frescoed.  This  was  successfully  and  satis- 
factorily accomplished,  and  services  for  the  re-opening  of  the 
church  were  held  October  14,  1900,  with  an  appropriate  sermon 
by  the  pastor,  and  other  exercises. 

The  chapel  building  was  materially  enlarged  on  its  westerly 
side,  under  contract  with  Mr.  MacDonald.  This  has  given 
spacious  rooms  for-  the  junior  and  primary  departments,  a 
pastor's  room,  choir  room,  library  room,  and  in  the  basement, 
toilet  rooms,  coat  rooms  and  kitchen;  and  on  the  northerly 
end  an  extra  entrance.  New  windows  and  other  improve- 
ments were  made  in  the  main  chapel  room.  The  total  cost  of 
this  enlargement  and  these  improvements,  was  $11,066.79; 
making  a  total  outlay  of  $16,744.01,  of  which  $139.89  was  paid 
by  the  ladies,  from  the  chapel  furnishing  fund.  This  over- 
run the  total  amount  raised  for  this  purpose  about  $500,  which 
sum  was  raised  by  subscription  at  a  business  men's  banquet 
held  in  the  chapel,  February  5,  1900.  These  changes  were 
made  and  the  School  met  in  the  newlv  arranged  and  finished 
quarters  on  Sunda}',  November   18,  1900.     Meanwhile  Sunday 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  155 

School  services  had  been  held  in  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Rooms,  as 
had  the  preaching  services  of  the  parish,  with  the  exception  of 
four,  which  were  held  in  the  City  Hall,  by  permission  of  the 
Board  of  Aldermen. 

While  out  of  a  church  home,  kind  and  generous  offers  of 
other  societies,  inviting  the  Church  to  hold  its  services  in 
their  meeting-houses,  were  received.  Such  was  the  case  with 
the  Universalist,  the  Baptist  and  the  Methodist  Societies.  It 
should  be  recorded  that  the  same  kindly  offers  were  tendered 
when  the  church  was  burned  in  1869. 

Great  credit  should  be  given  to  the  building  committee  for 
its  successful  work;  especiall\-  to  its  chairman,  Mr.  Franklin, 
for  his  energetic  and  unwearied  effort  in  carrying  these  various 
improvements  to  a  successful  termination,  and  to  the  great 
satisfaction  of  all  the  members  of  the  Melrose  Orthodox 
Congregational  Parish. 

The  Melrose  Highlands  Congregational  Church.  The 
first  attempt  to  hold  religious  exercises  at  the  Highlands  was 
made  in  the  spring  of  1857,  when  Deacon  Augustus  Durant 
commenced  a  Sunday  School  in  the  Franklin  Street  School- 
house.  This  was  discontinued  when  winter  came,  although  a 
Bible  class  was  taught  by  him  through  the  following  winter, 
which  met  at  different  houses.     Soon  after  this 

one  of  the  most  fortunate  of  things  happened  to  the  Highlands  in  the 
arrival  of  a  gentleman  of  religious  convictions  and  enthusiasm,  with  his 
bride.  It  were  idle  for  us  to  speculate  on  what  would  have  been  done 
to  care  for  the  religious  life  of  the  people  if  they  had  not  made  their 
home  in  this  place  under  the  rocks ;  for  in  other  hearts  the  question 
had  been  asked,  "What  shall  we  do?"  But,  having  once  taken  up 
their  abode  here,  a  Church  was  a  foregone  conclusion.  I  need  not  tell 
you  that  this  man  was  our  venerable  but  youthful  Deacon  Joel  Snow, 
and  that  the  bride  was  his  good  wife.  It  was  the  twelfth  day  of 
October,  1859,  when  they  came  ;  and  now,  for  over  twenty-seven  years, 
they  have  been  foremost  in  every  good  work.-*^ 

The  Church  here  foreshadowed  was  organized  in  1875.  For 
some  years  previous  to  this  preaching  services  had  been  fre- 
quently held;  some  were  out  of  doors,  generally  at  the  arch- 
way embankment  on  Melrose  Street,  when  pastors  from  the 
centre  of    the  town  officiated;    and  others  in  the   loft   of   the 

*  From  Origin  and  Grozvth  of  Highlands,  a  sennou  preached  Nov. 
the  Religious  Movement,  at  Melrose      i,  1886,  by  Rev.  John  G.  Taylor. 


156 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


stable  building  then  situated  on  the  corner  of  Tremont  and 
Franklin  Streets,  which  came  to  be  known  as  the  "Highland 
Chapel;"  the  use  of  which  had  been  given  by  Deacon  George 
W.  Chipman,  who,  in  the  fall  of  i86i,  altered  and  furnished  it 
for  that  purpose;  fitting  the  lower  story  for  a  dwelling.  In 
this  chapel,  not  only  these  preaching  services  were  held,  but 


BIRTHPLACE  OF  CHURCH. 

regular  weekly  prayer  meetings.  Later,  the  Highlands  Union 
Sunday  School,  formed  February  21,  1869.  with  the  names  of 
forty-five  persons  as  "charter  members,"  and  with  Deacon 
Calvin  N.  Chapin,  as  its  superintendent,  met  regularly  in  the 
chapel. 

During    these    preliminary    years,    preaching    services   were 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  157 

continued  quite  regularly,  the  pulpit  being  mostly  supplied  by 
pastors  from  the  centre  of  the  town.  Among  others  were 
Thomas  J.  Clithero  and  A.  E.  Higgins,  students  from  the 
Boston  Theological  Seminary,  the  latter  continuing  until  a  few 
months  before  the  Church  was  organized,  which  event  took 
place  September  29,  1875,  with  thirty-nine  members;  thirty- 
three  by  letter,  and  six  on  profession  of  faith;  of  the  original 
members,  twenty-one  were  Congregationalists,  seven  Method- 
ists, four  Baptists,  and  one  Lutheran;  the  entire  membership 
represented  fifteen  different  churches.  Rev.  D.  Allen  More- 
house, who  had  been  supplying  the  pulpit  for  a  few  months, 
was  installed  as  its  first  pastor,  with  a  sermon  by  Rev.  William 
H.  Willcox,  D.  D.,  of  Reading.  A  silver  communion  service 
was  presented  to  the  new  Church  by  the  Mystic  Church  of 
Medford. 

In  August,  1876,  Mr.  Morehouse  resigned,  and  on  Novem- 
ber 19,  of  the  same  year.  Rev.  John  G.  Taylor  was  installed 
as  his  successor.  Very  soon  after  this,  Mr.  Taylor  began  to 
agitate  the  subject  of  building  a  church  edifice;  and  by  dint  of 
persistent  effort  and  hard  struggling,  this  worthy  object  was 
successfully  accomplished.  A  building  committee  was  ap- 
pointed, land  bought  on  the  corner  of  Franklin  and  Ashland 
Streets,  ground  broken  April  25,  1878,  the  corner-stone  laid 
September  13,  1879,  and  the  church  dedicated  September  29, 
1880.  Five  years  later  a  chapel  was  built,  adjoining  the 
church,  the  cost  of  the  whole  being  $14,150.  In  1883  Mr. 
Taylor  went  abroad  for  fourteen  months,  and  Re\'.  Henry 
Bates  officiated  as  pastor. 

For  nine  years  this  young  Church  was  nourished  by  the 
Massachusetts  Home  Missionary  Society,  which  contributed 
to  its  running  expenses.  In  a  sermon  preached  b}'  Mr.  Taylor, 
Januar}-  9,  1887,  he  said: 

We  talk  of  ourselves  now  in  the  words  of  ten  years  ago,  without 
thinking  that  we  have  bought  a  large  lot  of  land,  built  two  houses  of 
worship,  or  a  church  and  a  chapel,  relinquished  a  yearly  income  of 
S300  at  first  and  $150  later  from  the  Missionary  Society,  and  received 
into  the  church  since  its  organization,  exclusive  of  the  39  original 
members,  1 12  persons,  and  since  I  began  my  work  with  j-ou  in  Novem- 
ber, '76,  106  persons.  In  other  departments  of  church  work  the 
growth  has  been  correspondingly  encouraging. 

And  a  week  later,  in  his  Tenth  A>iiiii'ersary  Ser)noii: 


158  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

When  I  first  became  acquainted  with  you,  you  were  about  fourteen 
months  old,  and  had  a  membership  of  fortj'-five.  Of  this  world's 
goods  you  had  but  verj-  little,  —  only  a  small  reed  organ,  and  a  few 
settees,  and  chairs,  and  lamps.  It  was  primitive  enough  for  the  year 
1620  at  Plymouth.  Underneath  this  hall  in  the  loft  lived  a  good 
woman,  whose  staunch  piety  was  of  more  worth  than  any  cornerstone 
of  granite  could  be,  and  in  one  corner  of  the  first  floor  was  a  room 
with  a  large  window,  in  which  were  tempting  bits  of  merchandise,  and 
afterwards  candies,  and  bread,  and  sweetmeats.  No  room  in  the 
House  of  Seven  Gables  could  have  been  more  worth)-  of  the  story- 
teller's pen.  The  stairway  up  which  we  climbed,  like  Pilgrims  going 
up  the  hill  which  overlooks  Plymouth  Bay,  landed  us  not  far  from  a 
large  stove,  and  just  far  enough  from  the  side  of  the  room  to  save  our 
heads  from  bumping  against  the  slanting  roof.  On  the  other  side,  the 
singers  poured  forth  their  feelings  in  good  music,  guiding  a  congrega- 
tion which  had  not  lived  long  enough  to  forget  how  to  sing ;  while  in 
the  north  end,  just  under  the  gable  window,  the  minister  stood  behind 
a  pulpit  which  had  been  made  out  of  an  old  school  desk,  draped  in 
scarlet. 

In  July,  1892,  the  Church  voted  to  become  incorporated 
under  the  General  Statutes,  and  by  due  process  became  a 
corporation,  following  which  action  the  Melrose  Highlands 
Congregational  Society  voted  to  transfer  its  property  inter- 
ests and  effects  to  the  incorporated  Church,  which  trust  was 
accepted  by  vote  of  the  Church,  July  21,  1893.  Mr.  Taylor 
resigned  March  30,  1893;  soon  after  which  a  call  was  extended 
to  Rev.  Burke  F.  Lea\'itt;  and  after  several  weeks  of  con- 
sideration he  accepted.  He  entered  upon  his  duties  October 
15,  1893,  and  was  installed  No\'ember  i.  He  had  been  pre- 
\iously  settled  in  the  ministry  in  Portland,  Chicago,  and 
Oregon. 

The  Parish  now  grew  so  rapidly  that  it  was  found  to  be  in 
straightened  circumstances;  and  very  soon  after  Mr.  Leavitt 
was  settled  the  building  of  a  new  church  edifice  was  success- 
fully agitated.  The  old  church  was  sold  to  George  J.  Bicknell, 
for  the  sum  of  $1,000,  and  mo\ecl  across  the  street  to  the  land 
where  once  existed  the  little  Highland  Pond,  which  had  then 
been  filled  up.  Soon  after  it  was  bought  by  the  Shepard  Manu- 
facturing Company,  and  is  now  used  as  the  factory  for  its  ex- 
tensive siKxM'-ware  business.  Ground  was  broken  for  the  new 
church  edifice  April  23,  1895,  the  corner-stone  laid  June  29, 
1895,  ^^^  't  ^^'ss  dedicated  January-  2,  1896.     It  is  a  large,  well 


ECCLESIA  S  TIC  A  L  HIS  TOR  Y. 


159 


arranged  building,  having  all  the  appointments  of  the  modern 
church  structure,  and  a  seating  capacity  of  750.  Its  total  cost 
was  $21,689.  A  number  of  its  stained-glass  windows  were  given 
by  Sabbath  School  classes;  its  organ  by  the  ladies  of  the  parish; 
and  a  fine  toned  bell,  weighing  2,300  pounds,  costing  $350  was 
given  by  the  Sabbath  School. 

The  following  figures,  given  at  the  fifth  anniversary  of  the 
settlement  of  Mr.  Leavitt,  show  not  only  a  successful  pastor- 
ate, but  indicate  the  rapid  growth  of  that  portion  of  our  town. 
During  that  period  the  new  church  was  built;  $28,259  raised 
for  home  expenses  —  twice  as  much  as  during  the  previous  five 


HIGHLANDS  CONGREGATIONAL  CHURCH. 

years  —  and  for  benevolent  objects  $3,206.  against  $1,349  for 
the  previous  period;  237  members  were  added  to  the  church, 
117  on  profession.     Present  number  of  members,  362. 

The  affiliated  organizations  of  this  Church  are  as  follows: 
Young  People's  Society  of  Christian  Endeavor,  Men's  Chris- 
tian League,  Women's  Christian  League,  Young  Men's  Chris- 
tian League,  Societ>'  of  King's  Daughters,  and  Junior  Christian 
Endeavor  Societ)'. 

Deacon  Chapin  continued  as  superintendent  of  the  Sunday 
School  for  five  years,  when  he  resigned,  and  was  succeeded  b^' 


160  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Florentine  S.  Shaw,  for  three  years.  Then  Deacon  William  W. 
Mason  was  elected,  when,  having  moved  away,  he  was  suc- 
ceeded in  1882,  by  Paul  Hayward.  He  was  succeeded  in  1885, 
by  Alfred  Blanchard.  In  1892,  Deacon- Mason  having  again 
become  a  resident  of  the  Highlands,  was  again  chosen  superin- 
tendent, and  was  succeeded  by  the  present  superintendent, 
Walter  H.  Todd.  Present  membership  of  the  School,  including 
the  home  department  is  580. 

The  deacons  are:  Angus  MacDonald,  Frederick  A.  Films, 
W.  S.  Fawcett,  Richard  Hicks,  W.  E.  Stanley,  Samuel  Thurs- 
ton, Fred  A.  Houdlette  and  George  W.  Bears.  Clerk,  George 
W.  Basford.     Treasurer  and  collector,  James  W.  Murray. 

The  Twenty-fifth  Anniversary  was  celebrated  by  the  Church, 
with  services  extending  from  September  28,  to  October  3, 
1900,  during  which  time  an  anniversary  sermon  was  preached 
by  the  pastor.  Rev.  Burke  F.  Leavitt,  an  historical  address 
by  Rev,  John  G.  Taylor,  an  address  by  Deacon  Calvin  N. 
Chapin,  the  first  superintendent,  an  address  by  Rev.  C.  I. 
Scofield,  and  a  banquet,  with  vocal  and  instrumental  music 
freely  interspersed  throughout  the  exercises. 

The  First  Baptist  Church.  In  the  year  1828,  several 
members  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  became  dissatis- 
fied with  the  form  of  Church  government,  left  it,  and  formed 
themselves  into  a  Protestant  Methodist  Church.  They  soon 
after  purchased  of  the  North  Maiden  school  district,  the 
little,  old,  unpainted  school-house,  hereafter  to  be  described, 
which  stood  near  the  corner  of  the  old  road,  now  Lebanon 
Street,  and  Upham  Lane,  now  Upham  Street.  This  they  en- 
larged somewhat,  and  dedicated  it  as  a  place  of  worship  in 
1830.  It  then  had  seventeen  members,  and  the  first  pastor 
was  Rev.  Thomas  F.  Norris. 

More  or  less  ill  feeling  and  controversy  had  existed,  and 
continued  to  exist,  between  this  Church  and  the  Methodist 
Episcopal  Church,  which  was  formed  several  years  before 
this,  and,  in  the  process  of  time,  and  for  some  reason,  no  one 
knows  why,  this  church  building  was  stigmatized  with  the 
name  of  the  "  Duck  Pen;"  and  that  of  the  Methodist  Episco- 
pal Church,  at  the  junction  of  Green  and  Main  Streets,  as  the 
"Cider  Mill."  The  after  history  of  the  "  Cider  Mill"  has 
been  given  in  the  sketch  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church; 
that  of  the  "Duck  Pen"  in  the  sketch  of  the  Melrose  Ortho- 
dox Congregational  Church. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  161 

In  1841,  the  Church  having-  outgrown  this  little  school-house 
structure,  which  had  accommodated  it  since  1830,  steps  were 
taken,  and  a  new  edifice  was  built  and  dedicated.  The  little 
broadside  containing-  the  "Order  of  Exercises  at  the  Dedi- 
cation of  the  First  Methodist  Protestant  Church,  Maiden, 
(North),  January  27th,  1842,"  announces  the  hymns,  anthems, 
dedicatory  pra}'er,  sermon,  etc.,  but  gives  no  names  of  those 
who  took  the  various  parts. 

For  over  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  Protestant  Methodist 
Church  maintained  its  organization,  but  not  without  a  severe 
struggle  and  a  considerable  loss  of  membership.  Meanwhile  a 
number  of  Baptists  had  mo\-ed  into  North  Maiden;  and  Janu- 
ary I,  1856,  the  First  Baptist  Church  of  Melrose,  was  org-anized 
with  thirteen  members  of  Baptist  churches,  and  eight  Protes- 
tant Methodists,  that  remained.  This  list  of  members  was  as 
follows: 

Rev.  Thorndike  C.  Jameson,         Caroline  C.  Bickford, 
Mrs.  Thorndike  C.  Jameson,         Lucy  Randall, 
Eliza  J.  Shelton,  Caroline  Jones, 

William  B.  Burgess,  Caleb  Howard, 

Ransom  J.  Norton,  Madeline  S.  Howard, 

Mrs.  Ransom  J.  Norton,  George  Howard, 

Elizabeth  Wood,  Addison  Lane, 

William  Dix,  Clarissa  Jackson, 

Mrs.  George  Upham,  William  Pierce, 

Betsey  Converse,  Cynthia  Pierce, 

William  J.  Farnsworth. 
The  only  one  of  these  original  members  now  living  is  Addi- 
son Lane,  now  in  his  eighty-second  year,  and  who  for  many 
years  has  been  one  of  the  deacons;  and  who  was  Superintend- 
ent of  the  Water  Works  for  several  }-ears,  and  Collector  of 
Taxes  for  five  years. 

The  following  is  a  copy  of  the  vote  passed  by  the  Society 
previous  to  the  formation  of  the  Baptist  Church: 

Caleb  Howard  Addison  Lane  &  W.  J.  Farnsworth  Trustees  of  the 
First  Methodist  Protestant  Society  in  Melrose  in  consideration  of  $400 
paid  by  the  first  Baptist  Society  in  Melrose  and  in  pursuance  of  a  Vote 
of  said  Methodist  Protestant  Society  passed  Sept.  3  A  D.  1855  Quit 
Claimed  to  Baptist  Society  its  Successors  &  assigns  a  certain  piece  of 
land  with  Meeting  house  subject  to  a  Mortgage  of  $1200  to  H.  Ban- 
croft. Signed  this  Sept  8  1855  acknowledged  Sept  10  Reed  Sept  18 
1855  Lib.  722  fol  356,  7. 


162 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


The  Protestant  Methodists  continued  their  organization  but 
for  a  short  time,  the  town  allowing-  them  to  meet  in  the  old 
Engine  House,  recently  removed  from  the  northerly  side  of 
the  Baptist  Church,  Rev.  George  Peirson  acting  as  pastor. 

At  the  time  of  the  formation  of  the  Baptist  Church,  the 
propert}'  consisted  of  the  small  church  building  erected  in 
1842,  and  the  large  lot  of  land  on  which  it  stood,  at  the  corner 
of  Main  and  Upham  Streets;  the  Baptist  Church  assumed  the 


FIRST  BAPTIST  CHURCH. 


indebtedness  then  resting  upon  the  property,  a  mortgage  of 
Si, 200,  and,  in  addition,  paid  the  Methodist  Protestant  Church, 
as  per  above  vote,  the  sum  of  $400. 

This  building  was  used  by  the  Baptist  Church  until  1873, 
when  it  was  sold  to  the  St.  Mary's  Catholic  Church,  removed 
to  Dell  Avenue,  used  by  that  Society  until  the  new  church  was 
built  on  Herbert  Street,  since  which  time  it  has  been  kncnvn  as 
Lyceum  Hall. 

The  present  brick  church  was  erected  in  1874,  being  dedi- 
cated with  appropriate  ceremonies  Noxember  17,  of  that  year. 
It  cost  $20,000. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  163 

The  list  of  pastors,  and  length  of  pastorates,  is  as  follows: 

Rev.  Thorndike  C.  Jameson,  from  1856  to  1858. 

Rev.  James  Cooper,  from  1858  to  1862. 

Rev.  Lewis  Colby,  from  1862  to  1864. 

Rev.  William  S.  Barnes,  from  1864  to  1868. 

Rev.  James  J.  Peck,  from  1869  to  1871. 

Rev.  Almond  Barrclle,  from  1871  to  1875. 

Rev.  Napoleon  B.  Thompson,  from  1875  to  1876. 

Rev.  Robert  F.  Tolman,  from  1878  to  1886. 

Rev.  George  A.  Cleveland,  from  1886  to  1893, 

Rev.  Joseph  K.  Wilson,  from  1894  to  1898. 

Rev.  Augustus  E.  Scoville,  from  1899. 
The  recognition  services  of  the  present  pastor,  Mr.  Scoville, 
were  held  Tuesday  evening,  February  6,  1900,  when  addresses 
were  mnde  by  Rev.  John  R.  Gow,  Prof.  Charles  R.  Brown, 
Rev.  Everett  D.  Burr,  and  our  local  pastors.  Rev.  William  W.' 
Hackett,  Rev.  David  M.  Lockrow,  Rev.  Thomas  Sims,  D.  D. 
and  Rev.  Edwin  C.  Bolles,  D.  D. 

The  present  membership  of  the  Church  is  450.  Since  its 
organization  there  have  been  961  persons  connected  with  the 
Church.  The  present  deacons  are  Charles  C.  Barry,  John  E 
Marshall,  William  H.  Flanders,  William  S.  Allen  and  Addison 
Lane;  clerk,  William  A.  Jepson;  treasurer,  Thomas  D.  Lock- 
wood;  collectors,  J.  Walter  Newhall  and  Roy  D.  Stafford. 

The  affiliated  societies  are  the  Social  Circle,  Baptist  Young 
People's  Union,  Junior  Baptist  Young  People's  Union  and  the 
Woman's  Missionary  Society.  The  Sunday  School  was  organ- 
ized forty-six  years  ago,  in  1856.  Its  list' of  superintendents 
follows: 

Caleb  Howard,  1856.  Rev.  James  J.  Peck,  1869. 

Guy  Lamkin,  1856-62.  Moses  Briggs,  1870-73. 

F.  W.  A.  Rankin,  Jr.,  1862-64.    George  M.  M'Coy,  1873-78. 

S.  M.  Tourtellot,  1864-66.  Charles  C.  Barrv^  1878-99; 

William  F.Paul,  1867.  ( twentv-one  years.) 

William  N.  Tyler,  1868.  Carl  B.  Smith,  1899. 

The  present  membership  of  the  School  is  480.  In  the  near 
future  this  Church  intends  building  a  new  church  building,  and 
it  now  has  a  fund  on  hand  for  that  purpose  amountm'.r  to 
$10,000.  "^ 

The  p-ELLS  Baptist  Church.  Soon  after  the  Boston  Rub- 
ber   Shoe    Company's    works   were   established,   at    the    Fells 


164  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Village,  in  1882,  where  there  then  existed  quite  a  population, 
members  of  the  First  Baptist  Church  began  mission  work  in 
that  district.  A  Sunday  School  was  organized,  and  weekly 
religious  services  were  held  in  a  hall  at  the  corner  of  Main 
Street  and  Goodyear  Avenue,  the  propert}'  of  the  Boston 
Rubber  Shoe  Compan\',  and  which  was  built  soon  after  the 
works  were  established,  and  has  always  been  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  this  religious  movement,  free  of  all  charge.  In  this 
hall,  also,  the  Converse  School  was  kept,  before  the  building 
of  the  Fells  District  school-house  —  the  Converse  School — ■ 
on  Washington  Street. 

The  Fells  Baptist  Church  was  organized  Januuary  25,  1889, 
with  twenty-six  members.  The  first  pastor  was  Rev.  William 
W.  Hackett,  who  had  officiated  at  the  religious  services  for 
some  time  previous  to  the  organization  of  the  Church,  and  was 
installed  February  i,  1889.  He  resigned  November  30,  1890, 
and  was  succeeded  February  i,  1891,  by  Re\'.  C.  D.  Swett, 
vyho  remained  until  August  31,  1893.  R*^^-  George  A.  Cleve- 
land was  the  pastor  from  November  5,  1893,  until  April  30, 
1894;  Rev.  Wesley  L.  Smith,  May  i,  1894,  to  May  31,  1897; 
and  June  i,  1897,  Rev.  Mr.  Hackett  again  became  the  pastor, 
and  remained  until  April  30,  1900,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
Re\-.  D.  C.  Easton,  who  was  installed  June  2,  following.  He 
remained  until  May,  190 1,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  L.  A. 
Cooney,  who  was  installed  October  6,  1901.  The  present 
membership  of  the  Church  numbers  83;  and  that  of  the  Sunday 
School,  which  was  formed  soon  after  the  Rubber  Works  were 
built,  now  numbers  forty,  with  Norman  B.  Brown,  as  superin- 
tendent. The  officers  of  the  Church  are:  deacons,  Norman  B. 
Brown,  Edwin  White  and  Edwin  B.  Marshall;  church  clerk, 
Walter  W.  Wortman;  treasurer,  Lewis  S.  Munroe. 

The  Melrose  Highlands  Baptist  Church.  For  a  num- 
ber of  years,  the  Melrose  Highlands  has  been  increasing 
rapidly  in  population;  and  in  the  fall  of  1893,  i^  ^^"^^s  found 
that  cjuite  a  number  of  members  of  Baptist  Churches  were  liv- 
ing there.  A  series  of  prayer-meetings  were  first  held  at  the 
different  residences,  and  soon  a  society  was  formed,  and  regu- 
lar services  held  in  Rogers'  Hall,  on  Franklin  Street.  The 
first  sermon  was  preached  October  22,  b}'  Rev.  George  A. 
Cleveland,  of  the  First  Baptist  Church.  Different  pastors 
supplied    the    pulpit    until    March.    1894,  when    Re\'.    Bowley 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY. 


105 


Green  was  invited  to  become  their  pastor,  and  the  Church  was 
organized  April  12,  with  thirteen  members.  Mr.  Green  was 
ordained  November  21,  1894,  but  in  the  following  April  ten- 
dered his  resignation,  and  accepted  a  call  to  the  Worthen 
Street  Baptist  Church,  Lowell.  After  two  months  a  call  was 
extended  to  Rev.  Byron  U.  Hatfield  of  Georgetown,  which 
was  accepted;  and  he  was  installed  August  2,  1895.  During 
his  pastorate  the  church  edifice,  on  the  corner  of  Day  and 
Franklin  Streets,  was  built  and  dedicated  December  29,  of 
that  same   year.     It  cost  $9,000.     In  Januar\-,  1896,  Mr.  Hat- 


MKLROSE  HIGHLANDS  BAPTIST  CHURCH. 

field  resigned,  and  in  March  a  call  was  extended  to  Rev.  C.  E. 
Tullar,  of  Watertown.  who  accepted.  He  continued  his  work 
until  April,  1898,  when  he  resigned.  The  present  pastor,  Re\-. 
David  M.  Lockrow,  was  installed  November  3,  1898.  The 
membership  of  the  Church  now  numbers  seventy-five;  of  the 
Sunday  School  183,  and  Abner  M.Saunders  is  its  superintend- 
ent. The  young  people's  society  connected  with  the  Church, 
is  called  the  Baptist  Young  People's  Union. 

Several  memorial  windows  were  placed  in  this  church  when 
it  was  built.  Through  the  efforts  of  D.  Evans  Caswell,  of  the 
"Humanitarian  Chaj)el,"  situated   nc-arl\-  ojjposite  the  church, 


166  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

on  Franklin  Street,  a  handsome  American  Flag  Window,  orna- 
ments its  eastern  or  chancel  end.  This  is  in  memory  of 
those  soldiers  who  gave  their  lives  for  their  country.''  A 
Grand  Patriotic  Concert  was  given  in  the  hall  of  the  Highland 
Club  House,  Wednesday  evening,  December  4,  1895,  by  which 
the  necessary  funds  were  raised,  not  only  for  this  window,  but 
for  two  others;  one  called  the  Queen  Esther  Window,  in  honor 
of  the  mothers,  wives  and  daughters  who  gave  their  sons,  hus- 
bands and  brothers  to  their  country;  the  other  a  Peace 
Window,  placed  in  the  vestibule,  in  honor  of  the  sons  and 
daughters  of  veterans  of  the  service.  Still  another  handsome 
window,  containing  a  representation  of  Ruth,  was  presented  by 
Dexter  Pratt,  as  a  memorial  of  his  daughter,  who  died  a  few 
years  ago. 

Present  officers:  treasurer,  John  N.  Underwood;  clerk,  Mrs. 
S.  A.  Pierce;  collector,  C.  M.  Huxford;  deacons,  Henry  A. 
Jones,  John  A.  McLean,  Abner  M.  Saunders  and  Edwin  T. 
Cone. 

The  First  Free  Baptist  Church.  During  the  year  i893> 
when  there  was  but  one  church  building  in  the  Melrose  High- 
lands, "a  few  earnest  Christian  people  decided,  after  much 
prayer,  to  undertake  a  new  work  for  God,  and  in  the  interest 
of  the  many  unchurched  and  unsaved  in  the  town."  For 
nearly  a  year  services  were  held  in  the  old  school-house  on 
Franklin  Street,  as  a  mission.  On  January  i,  1894,  Rev.  George 
N.  Howard  became  pastor,  but  the  Church  was  not  fully 
organized  until  P'ebruary  5,  of  that  year,  when  it  was  duly 
incorporated  with  thirt}'-five  charter  members. 

Not  long  after  this  steps  were  taken  toward  the  building  of 
a  church  edifice.  Land  was  purchased  on  the  corner  of  Green 
and  Farwell  Streets,  and  the  corner-stone  of  a  building,  of 
which  Mr.  Howard  was  the  architect,  was  laid  October  16, 
1894,  with  appropriate  ceremonies.     Its  plan  is  a  unique  one 

^  Until   the   preseut    year,    1902,  Rebellion  0/1861-65.     Ou  August  2, 

Melrose  had  neither  soldiers'  mon-  1902,  a  soldiers'  monument  which 

ument,    tablet,    or   memorial    hall.  had  been  erected  on   the   soldiers' 

The  only  recognition  the   services  lot    in    Wyoming     Cemetery     was 

of  the  "  Boys  in  Blue,"  other  than  dedicated.      Further     details     are 

this  memorial  window,  had  received  given  in  the  chapter,  "Military  Or- 

was  the  volume  published  in   1868,  ganizations,"  and  in  the  account  of 

entitled:     The   Melrose    Memorial:  "  Old  Home  Week." 
The  Annals  of  Melrose  in  the  Great 


ECCLESIA  S  TIC  A  L  HIS  TOR  Y. 


167 


On  the  same  floor  with  the  auch'torium,  which  with  the  two 
galleries  accommodates  an  audience  of  over  four  hundred,  is  a 
lecture  room  seating-  one  hundred  persons,  a  fully  etjuipped 
kindergarten  room  and  a  parlor. 

The  building  was  sufiticienth'  adwanced  to  allow  of  its  occu- 
pancN^  b\-  the  parish  April  7,  1895.  During  a  portion  of  the 
previous  time,  from  December  to  Aprd,  services  were  held  in 
Eastman's  Hall,  on  Main  Street.  The  edifice  was  not  wholly 
completed  until  January  8,  1899,  ^^  which  time  dedication  ex- 
ercises took  place,  with   an    historical  address  by  the  pastor, 


MHLKOSK  HIGHLANDS  FIRST  FREE  B.\PTIST  CHURCH. 

Rev.  George  N.  Howard;  a  sermon  by  Rev.  A.  W.  Anthony. 
of  Lewiston,  Maine,  and  other  addresses. 

Rev.  Mr.  Howard  resigned  February  14,  1902. 

The  present  officers  are:  Levi  \V.  Gilman,  deacon;  George 
C.  Mower,  clerk;  Levi  W.  Gilman,  treasurer. 

The  church  contains  several  handsome  memorial  wintlows: 
One,  "The  Baptism  of  Christ,  by  John  in  the  Jordan,"  in 
memory  of  Charles  Dana  and  George  Henry  Lincoln;  another, 
"The  Sower,"  m  memor\-  of  the  fathers  of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Le\i 
VV.  Gilman.  In  the  gallerx',  one  from  "The  Stammerer's 
Friend;"  and  back  of  the  altar,  "Christ  in  Gethsemane.  ' 


168  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

The  total  cost  of  land  and  edifice  was  $20,000.  The  Church 
has  now  a  membership  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five.  The 
Sunday  School  has  one  hundred  members  and  the  superin- 
tendent is  John  T.  Hill.  It  has  a  library  of  four  hundred  vol- 
umes. The  affiliated  societies  are  The  Young  Men's  League, 
Ladies'  Aid  Society,  Faithful  Workers,  A.  C.  F.  Society  Senior, 
and  the  A.  C.  F.  Society  Junior. 

The  First  Universalist  Church.  The  first  preaching  of 
the  doctrine  of  Universalism  on  the  territory  now  Melrose, 
was  introduced  in  the  manner  described  by  the  late  Artemas 
Barrett,  in  an  article  written  for  the  Melrose  yoiirnal,  as  follows: 

At  the  commencement  of  the  war  with  England  in  1S12.  a  very 
bitter  feeling  existed  between  the  two  political  parties  known  as  the 
"  Federalists  "  and  "  Republicans."  While  this  feeling  was  at  a  high 
pitch,  the  Rev.  Mr.  Osgood,  of  one  of  the  neighboring  towns,  made  an 
exchange  with  the  pastor  of  the  Church  at  Maiden,  Rev.  Aaron  Green. 
Mr.  Osgood  preached  a  sermon  strongly  tinctured  with  Federalism, 
denouncing  the  Republicans  as  "war-hawkers,"  and  calling  them 
other  hard  names.  After  the  service  the  Federalists  were  in  high  glee 
over  the  sermon.  But  this  part  of  the  town  was  Republican,  almost 
to  a  man,  and  the  sermon  therefore  caused  offense.  This  rupture 
caused  the  Universalists  (also  the  Methodists)  to  hold  occasional  ser- 
vices of  their  own  here  in  a  small,  unpainted  school-house  on  Lebanon 
Street,  and  the  ministers  they  had  were  the  Revs.  Joshua  Flagg, 
Edward  Turner  and  Hosea  Ballou. 

A  very  important  place  in  the  early  histor}^  of  Melrose,  was 
occupied  by  this  little  unpretentious,  unpainted  building;  util- 
ized as  it  was,  not  only  for  all  the  school  purposes  of  the 
inhabitants  of  the  "  North  End,"  but  for  religious  meetings 
by  x'arious  denominations,  and,  possibly,  for  other  occasions. 
Some  are  now  living  who,  not  only  went  to  school  in  this  build- 
ing, but  also  attended  church  therein.  Small  as  it  was,  it  was 
the  only  public  building  standing  on  the  territory.  After  the 
new  school-house  was  built  on  Upham  Street,  in  1828,  occa- 
sional services  were  held  there  ;  also  in  Academy  Hall,  then 
standing  on  Berwick  Street.  Among  the  preachers  at  this 
time  were  Revs.  Syh'anus  Cobb,  Thomas  Whittemore,  Lemuel 
Willis,  Henry  Jewell,  E.  H.  Locke,  Hosea  Ballou  and  John  G. 
Adams,  then  settled  at  Maiden  Centre." 

"''  The  following  incident  is  told  Pratt,  when  the  Maiden  Centre 
of  one  of  our  former  citizens,  John  Church,  after  a  bitter  struggle, 
Pratt,    father   of   the    late    Charles       passed,    l)y    action    of    the    courts, 


ECCLESIA  S  TIC  A  L  HIS  TOR  Y. 


169 


In  this  manner,  with  these  occasional  ser\'ices,  a  number  of 
years  passed  before  any  permanent  organization  took  place, 
which  occurred  February  lo,  1849.  The  first  minister  was 
Rew  Josiah  VV.  Talbot,  who  began  his  labors,  as  pastor,  March 
18,  1849.  April  8,  1849,  the  constitution  was  adopted,  one 
article  of  which  declared  that  "this  societ}'  shall  i^e  called  the 
First  Universalist  Society  in  Melrose."  December  30,  1856, 
the  society  adopted  a  new  constitution  in  accordance  with  the 
laws  of  the  State,  bearing  the  following  signatures:  Artemas 
Barrett,  James  Barrett,  Joseph  H.  Green,  Josiah  W.  Talbot, 
Benjamin  B.  Day,  Thomas  B.  Woodward,  Henry  Sprague, 
James  M.  Thresher,  Franklin  Taylor,  William  L}-nde,  Kitridge 
Avery,  George  B.  Talbot,  Augustus  Barrett,  Thomas  C.  Board- 
man,  Martin  Ellis,  John  H.  Green,  Elbridge  Green,  Abel 
Willis,  George  L}'nde,  Anthon}'  Crosby,  James  D.  Littlefield, 
John  Crocker,  H.  G.  Tucker,  Lorin  L.  Fuller,  David  Fairbanks, 
Moses  Eastman,  Francis  D.  Howe,  Henr}'  A.  Norris,  Charles 
H.  Isburgh,  Walter  R.  Collins,  Joseph  D.  Wilde,  Walter  Babb, 
George  M.  Morse,  Jonathan  Barrett,  Benjamin  F.  Jones, 
Thomas  J.  Kimball  and  B.  Franklin  Green. 

By  the  untiring  energ}'  and  perse\'erance  of  Mr.  Talbot  a 
church  building  was  erected  on  Essex  Street,  and  dedicated 
January  I,  1852,  with  sermon  by  Rev.  Alonzo  A.  Miner.  Revs. 
John  G.  Adams,  Otis  A.  Skinner  and  Hosea  Ballou,  also  took 
part  in  the  exercises.  Mr.  Talbot  bought  the  land  for  the 
church  site  with  his  own  money,  deeding  it  to  the  societ}' 
Februar)'  9,  1852,  soon  after  the  church  edifice  was  finished. 
He  drew  the  plans,  bought  the  material,  superintended  the 
construction,  and  was  largely  instrumental  in  raising  money 
for  the  same.  In  the  terrible  gale  of  April  16,  1 85 1,  when 
Minot's  Ledge  Lighthouse  was  destroyed,  the  })artly  finished 
spire  was  blown  over. 

Mr.  Talbot  was  acti\-e  also  in  town  affairs,  serving  as  one  of 

from  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Ortho- 
dox to  the  Uuiversalists,  and  the 
former  withdrew  and  built  another 
church  edifice:   "One  of   the    most 


wealthy  and  prominent  citizens  of 
Maiden  at  this  time  was  a  Univer- 
salist, and  he  had  in  his  employ  a 
negro,  who  attended  these  meet- 
ings. At  the  final  meeting,  as  they 
were  leaving  the  old  church,  some 


one  told  Mr.  John  Pratt,  an  eccen- 
tric and  sturdy  old  Orthodox,  living 
in  this  part  of  the  town,  that  this 
negro  voted  with  the  Universalists. 
In  his  indignation  he  stepped  into 
the  street  facing  the  church,  took 
off  his  hat,  and  made  a  very  low 
bow,  saj'ing,  "Good-bye,  old  meet- 
inghouse! The  niggers  have  got 
vou." 


170 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


the  financial  committee  during  the  first  year  of  its  incorpora- 
tion, and  on  the  school  committee  for  the  year  185 1. 

Mr.  Talbot  resigned  the  pastorate  November  13,  1853,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  A.  Cooledge,  who  served  one  year  on 
the  school  committee  and  who  remained  until  1856.  when  the 
Rev.  Joseph  S.  Dennis  was  called,  and  he  was  installed  as  his 
successor  April  i,  1856.  During  his  pastorate  the  church  edi- 
fice was  enlarged  by  the  addition  of  sixteen  pews,  a  new  organ 
purchased,  and  an  additional  piece  of  land  bought  on  the  east 
side  of  the  lot.  Mr.  Dennis  served  on  the  school  committee 
for  the  year  1857.     He  resigned  in  July,    1858,  and  was  suc- 


-iaBr"iiii4ii'iTi;iiVi;i;i;;i;,;;    "   -^  -y -|- 


FIRST  UNIVKRSALIST  CHURCH. 

ceeded  in  the  No\'ember  following  by  the  Rev.  Benjamin  Y. 
Bowles,  who  remained  only  until  the  end  of  the  year  1859. 
His  successor,  Re\'.  George  H.  Deere  commenced  his  labors 
September,  i860,  continuing  until  1S62,  when  he  was  succeeded 
by  Rev.  George  W.  Quimby,  who  remained  two  years.  From 
April  I,  1864,  to  March  20,  1865,  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by 
seventeen  different  clergymen.  The  Rev.  Selden  Gilbert  then 
received  a  call  and  entered  upon  his  duties,  remaining  until 
1866.  The  following  three  years,  to  1869,  the  pulpit  was 
supplied  by  Rev.  B.  H.  Davis,  and  September  i,  of  that  year 
the   Rev.  John   N.   Emery  received   a  call   which   he  accepted. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  171 

During  his  ministry  the  existing  mortgage  of  $2,500  was  paid 
off  and  the  Church  was  free  from  debt.  During  a  thunder 
storm  in  June,  1870,  the  church  was  struck  by  lightning,  setting 
the  top  of  the  steeple  on  fire,  and  doing  other  damage. 
Mr.  Emery  resigned  September  i,  1872,  and  was  succeeded 
December  13  of  the  same  year,  by  Re\'.  James  E.  Bruce.  He 
closed  his  connection  with  the  Church  July  i,  1875,  ^^^  No- 
vember 15,  1875,  Rev.  William  A.  Start  received  a  call,  and  was 
installed  March  6,  1876.  He  resigned  in  December,  1877,  and 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Charles  A.  Skinner  in  September,  1878. 
During  his  ministry  stained  glass  windows  were  put  into  the 
church,  and  other  improvements  made.  Mr.  Skinner  resigned 
May  I,  1881,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Richard  Eddy,  D.  D. 
Under  the  pastorate  of  Dr.  Eddy,  the  society  prospered  to 
such  a  degree  that  a  new  edifice,  costing  $16,138.68  was  built 
on  the  site  of  the  old  one.'  Had  the  church  been  built  on  any 
other  site  than  this,  the  land  would  have  reverted  to  the  heirs 
of  Mr.  Talbot,  the  donor,  that  being  one  of  the  conditions  of 
his  gift.  The  new  church  was  dedicated  March  24,  1889,  with 
a  sermon  by  the  pastor,  and  an  address  to  the  people  by 
Rev.  A.  A.  Miner,  D.  D.,  in  the  afternoon,  and  a  sermon  in  the 
evening  by  Dr.  Miner,  who  preached  the  dedication  sermon 
of  1852. 

For  the  dedication  of  the  first  edifice  in  1852,  the  then 
pastor,  Rev.  Mr.  Talbot,  wrote  a  h\^mn,  of  which  the  following 
is  a  stanza: 

And  may  this  earthly  temple 

Our  humble  souls  prepare, 
To  praise  Thee  in  thy  heavenly, 

And  all  its  glories  share. 
Then  shall  Thy  ransomed  children 

Assemble  round  Thy  throne, 
When  all  shall  be  immortal, 

And  know  as  they  are  known. 

Mr.  Talbot  was  present  and  read  the  hymn  then  written,  at 
the  dedication  of  the  new  church. 

A  fine  organ  was  presented  to  the  Church  by  Hon.  Daniel 
Russell,  and  a  beautiful  memorial  window  was  given  by  Joseph 
C.  Crocker,  a  former  resident,  and  one  of  the  soldiers  who 
served  on  the  quota  of  Melrose  during  the  great  rebellion,  in 
memory  of  his  parents. 

'  The  old  church  was  sold  to  west  side  of  Essex  Street,  and  be- 
M.  Frank  Eastman,  removed  to  the      came  our  present  Franklin  Hall. 


172  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

After  a  successful  ministry  of  eight  years,  Dr.  Eddy  re- 
signed, July  6,  1889,  and  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Julian  S. 
Cutler,  who  was  installed  the  following  November.  Mr.  Cut- 
ler also  remained  eight  years,  when  he  resigned  to  accept  a 
call  to  Orange,  Mass.  The  Church  remained  without  a  pastor 
but  a  short  time.  Rev.  Edwun  C.  Bolles,  D.  D.,  who  has  held 
pastorates  in  Portland,  Salem  and  New  York  City,  received  a 
call  which  he  accepted.  He  was  installed  January  4,  1898. 
Mr.  Bolles  remained  until  January  i,  1902,  when  he  resigned 
to  devote  his  whole  time  as  professor  of  history  in  Tufts 
College.  He  was  succeeded  April  22,  1902,  by  Rev.  Andrew 
J.  Torsleff,  the  present  pastor.  On  the  loth  of  February  1899, 
the  Church  celebrated  the  fiftieth  anniversary  of  its  organiza- 
tion, on  which  occasion  a  banquet  was  gi\-en  in  the  vestry,  and 
addresses  were  made  by  the  pastor,  two  past  pastors,  Revs. 
Charles  A.  Skinner  and  Julian  S.  Cutler,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Liver- 
more,  Rev.  Thomas  Sims,  D.  D.,  pastor  of  the  Congregational 
Church,  Rev.  Henry  A.  Westall,  pastor  of  the  Liberal  Christian 
Union  Church,  at  the  Highlands,  and  an  historical  address  b)' 
Sidney  H.  Buttrick.  The  only  one  of  the  original  members 
present  was  Abel  Willis,  who  was  also  a  member  of  the  choir, 
and  who  took  part  in  the  musical  exercises  of  this  occa- 
sion. Mr.  Willis  died  March  23,  1902,  aged  85.  The  present 
number  of  members  of  the  Church  is  fift}'.  The  Sabbath 
School  numbers  one  hundred  and  fifty  members.  The  follow- 
ing persons  ha\e  served  as  superintendent:  Da\'id  Fairbanks, 
Charles  H.  Isburgh,  (who  ser\-ed  over  thirty  years,)  Joseph  D. 
Wilde,  Robert  J.  Chute,  Walter  Babb,  Cummings  L.  Lothrop 
and  Sidne)'  H.  Buttrick,  the  present  incumbent.  The  affiliated 
societies  of  the  Church  are  the  Russell  Club,  Young  People's 
Christian  Union,  the  Ladies'  Social  Circle,  and  Junior  Christian 
Union. 

The  Trinity  P^piscop.al  Church.  This  is  the  fifth  Church 
organized  in  IVlelrose.  Beginning  April  13,  1856,  five  services 
were  held  by  Rev.  William  H.  Munroe,  in  the  parlors  of  Mrs. 
Samuel  Rice,  on  Lake  A\'enue.  Following  those,  one  or  more 
public  services  were  held  in  the  Congregational  church,  at 
five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  Rev.  Mr,  Munroe,  who  became 
the  first  rector,  officiating.  From  the  Orthodox  church  the 
society  went  to  Lyceum  Hall,  Main  .Street,  where  the  Sunday 
School    was    established    and    services    hold.      From    there    to 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  173 

the  hall  in  Waverly  Block,  Essex  Street.  The  Church  was  or- 
ganized May  20,  1857,  at  the  house  of  Charles  P.  Gordon,  on 
Linden  Place.  During  I\Ir.  Munroe's  pastorate,  a  church 
edifice  was  built  on  West  Emerson  Street,  which  was  dedicated 
March  25,  i860.  It  was  consecrated  June  13,  1866  by  the  Rt. 
Rev.  Manton  Eastburn,  D.  D.,  Bishop  of  Massachusetts,  being 
then  free  of  debt.  Mr.  Munroe  resigned  in  1862,  going  first  to 
Philadelphia,  and  afterwards  became  rector  of  the  famous 
"Christ  Church."  Salem  Street,  Boston,  dying  a  few  years 
since.  While  here  he  served  on  the  school  committee  for  the 
years  1857,  1858  and  1859.  He  was  also  instrumental  in  organ- 
izing the  first  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  of  Melrose, 
in  1858,  being  its  president. 

Mr.  Munroe's  successor  was  Rev.  John  B.  Richmond,  who 
remained  until  Jul>',  1868.  During  his  pastorate,  in  July,  1866, 
the  church  was  entered  by  burglars,  and  the  carpets  stolen. 
Mr.  Richmond  served  on  the  school  committee  for  the  years 
1864  and  1865.  Rev.  Robert  Ritchie  succeeded  to  the  rector- 
ship remaining  only  one  year.  June  13,  1870,  Rev.  Charles 
Wingate  was  chosen  rector,  remaining  until  1876.  During  this 
time  he  was  absent  a  year  in  Europe,  arid  Rev.  Samuel  P. 
Parker,  D.  D.,  had  charge  of  the  parish.  During  the  3'ear 
1875,  the  church  was  again  entered  by  burglars,  and  the  hand- 
some communion  ser\-ice,  gn-en  by  Oliver  L.  Briggs,  in  i860, 
was  stolen. 

Rev.  Henry  A.  Metcalf  was  chosen  rector  April  27,  1876, 
and  he  remained  until  1880.  During  his  pastorate  a  new  organ 
was  placed  in  the  church. 

Mr.  Metcalf  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Charles  L.  Short,  who 
was  installed  December  21,  1880,  and  who  remained  until  May 
21,  1888.  During  his  ministry  a  chapel  was  built,  adjoining 
the  church,  in  1885,  at  a  cost  of  S3,000,  and  a  little  later  a 
beautiful  new  stone  church  was  erected  to  take  the  place  of 
the  old  one,  which  was  consecrated  June  21,  1887,  the  history 
of  which  is  told  in  the  following  letter: 

Melrose,  M-ass.,  Dec.  28,  1885. 
To  the  Corporation,  Trinity  Parish,  Melrose  : 

I  have  been  requested  by  the  heirs  of  the  late  Miss  Catherine  L. 
Tyer  to  communicate  to  you  the  following:  No  legal  will  has  been 
found  among  her  papers,  but  instead  thereof,  an  expression  of  her 
wishes  written  June  6,  1884,  requesting  that  certain  amounts  of  money 
be  given  to  parties  specified,  in  the  event  of  her  decease.     The  pro- 


174 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


perty  will  be  settled  by  an  Administrator,  and  divided  according  to 
law.  At  a  meeting  of  the  legal  heirs:  Horace  H.  Tyer,  Elizabeth 
Saver}-,  Mary  T.  Fiske,  Frances  A.  Flint  and  Laura  B.  Thomas,  held 
in  Melrose  on  the  28th  day  of  November,  it  was  unanimously  voted 
that  the  requests  contained  in  the  papers  found  be  complied  with  in 
full.  The  seventh  article  reads  as  follows:  I  desire  that  510,000  be 
given  to  Trinity  Parish,  Melrose,  Mass.  The  sentence  following 
prescribed  that  "  the  gift  to  said  church  or  parish  be  disposed  of  by 
the  pastor,  wardens  and  vestry,  as  they  shall  decide,  will  be  for  the 
best  good  of  said  Parish."     It  was  known  to  some  members  of  the 


TRIXITV  KPISCOPAL  CHURCH. 

family  that  the  late  Miss  Tyer  intended,  if  she  lived,  to  within  a  few 
years  erect  in  Melrose  a  church  as  a  memorial  to  her  father,  mother 
and  brother,  if  acceptable  to  your  parish.  In  consideration  of  this 
intention,  the  members  of  the  family  propose,  if  acceptable  to  you,  to 
carry  out  her  wishes  as  a  memorial  to  her  as  well,  on  the  following 
conditions:  First,  the  amount  donated  by  her  ($10,000)  to  be  devoted 
to  that  purpose.  Second :  the  Parish  to  erect,  within  a  reasonable 
time,  a  stone  edifice  complete  in  every  part,  including  furnishing  and 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  175 

all  that  is  necessary  to  provide  a  suitable  church  building,  according 
to  plans  furnished  by,  or  acceptable  to  the  legal  heirs ;  the  whole  cost 
and  expenses,  including  additional  land  necessary,  to  be  paid  by  them, 
providing  that  the  same  does  not  exceed  the  sum  of  $20,000.  That  is 
to  say,  the  members  of  the  family  will  provide  s;  10,000  in  addition  to 
the  510,000  mentioned  in  the  tirst  article.  Third:  A  suitable  tablet  to 
be  placed  in  the  church  to  denote  that  it  is  erected  as  a  memorial  to 
Henry  George  Tver,  Elizabeth  Tver,  and  Catherine  Louisa  Tver. 
Fourth:  Such  memorials  as  are  now  incorporated  in  the  present  church 
building,  or  used  therein,  to  be  used  in  the  proposed  structure  as 
deemed  best. 

The  foregoing  is  respectfully  submitted  for  your  consideration. 

Your  obedient  servant, 

F.  W.  Thomas. 

This  generous  gift  was  accepted  with  heartfelt  acknowledge- 
ments to  the  donors.  After  the  plans  and  estimates  had  been 
made,  it  was  found  that  the  cost  would  exceed  the  $20,000. 
The  heirs  at  once  authorized  the  committee,  Rev.  Charles  L. 
Short,  Royal  P.  Barry.  William  H.  Allen,  \V.  Irving  Ellis,  and 
Frederick  W.  Thomas,  to  proceed  and  they  would  make  up  the 
deficiency.  The  church  was  built.  The  total  cost  of  the  edi- 
fice and  15,000  feet  of  extra  land  was  $28,467.40.  An  appro- 
priate memorial  brass  tablet  was  placed  in  the  west  wall  of  the 
church.  The  Perkins  memorial  window  which  was  placed  in 
the  old  church  Juh-  3,  1884,  was  replaced  in  the  new.  Its  in- 
scription is:  "To  the  Glor}-  of  God  and  in  memory  of  Horatio 
Nelson  Perkins." 

The  widow  of  Samuel  Rice  gave  the  new  church  a  baptis- 
mal font,  on  which  is  the  following  inscription:  "To  the 
Glory  of  God  and  in  memory  of  Samuel  Rice,  one  of  the 
trustees  and  first  warden  of  the  Church.  Born  Januar\-  30, 
1814,  died  April  18.  1885.  The  pure  in  heart  shall  see  God."' 
The  altar  is  a  memorial  gift  from  Mr.  and  Mrs.  P.  Morton 
DeWolfe,  and  bears  this  inscription:  "In  Memoriam.  Louisa 
Margaret  DeWolfe.  Born  November  5.  1879;  entered  into 
rest,  August  23,   1884." 

Through"  the  kind  efforts  of  the  late  William  L.  Williams, 
the  church  received  a  unique  gift;  a  carved  stone  from  the 
ruins  of  the  celebrated  Abbey  of  Melrose,  Scotland.  It  is 
placed  under  the  support  of  one  of  the  trusses  on  the  south- 
erly side  of  the  church.  The  tablet  is  inscribed  as  follows: 
"The  above  carved   stone   once   formed  a  part  of  the  Abbey 


176 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Church    of    St.    Mary,  Melrose,    Scotland,  built   about   A.   D.- 
1400.     It  was  obtained  through  the  kind  offices  of   Alexander 

T.    Simons,   Esq.,  Gildon   Grove,   Mel-  

rose,  and  the  Rev.  James  C.  Herdman, 
Melrose,  and  presented  to  William  L. 
Williams  of  this  town,  and  by  him  to 
Trinity  Parish,  A.  D.  1886." 

Rev.  Mr.  Short  was  succeeded  in  the 
rectorship  by  Rew  Charles  H.  Sey- 
mour, S.  T.  D.,  who  was  elected  to  that 
position  September  12,  1888,  and  who 
remained  till  April  13,  1891.  The  pres- 
ent rector,  Re\',  Paul  Sterling,  began 
his  pastorate  September  15,  1891. 

Present  number  of  communicants  four 
hundred  and  thirty-one.  The  Sunday 
School  has  one  hundred  and  fifty-four 
members.  The  affiliated  societies  are 
St.  Margaret's  Chapter,  St.  Agnes  Guild, 
Dorcas  Chapter  and  the  Young  Men's 
Guild. 

The  present  officers   of    the  Church 
are:    wardens,  Royal   P.  Barry  and   Henry  A.  Bush;  treasurer, 
Henry  F.  Grout;   clerk,  Samuel  .S.  Preble,  Jr. 

The  Unitarian  .ConCiRegational  Society.  The  first  per- 
manent movement  for  the  establishment  of  a  Unitarian  Church 
in  Melrose,  was  made  November  18,  1866,  when  services  were 
begun  in  Concert  Hall,  on  Main  Street,  near  the  corner  of 
Essex  Street,  by  Rev.  William  P.  Tilden,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  American  Unitarian  Association.  Soon  after,  in  July,  1867, 
the  Unitarian  Congregational  Society  was  organized.  Previous 
to  this,  as  early  as  1848,  a  short  time  after  the  Boston  and 
Maine  railroad  was  opened  through  Melrose,  services  were 
held  for  several  months  in  the  old  Academy  Hall,  on  Berwick 
Street,  by  the  Rev.  F.  W.  Holland,  under  the  auspices  of  the 
American  Unitarian  Association.  The  new  Society  met  in 
Concert  Hall,  where  it  continued  to  hold  services  for  a  number 
of  years,  ha\ing  for  pastors,  besides  Mr.  Tilden,  Revs.  John  D. 
Wells,  John  A.  Buckingham,  William  .Silsbee  and  William  S. 
Barnes,  who  had   left  the  Baptist  denomination,  and  the  pas- 


THE  MELROSE  ABBEY 
STONE. 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  177 

torate  of  the  First  Baptist  Church,  to  become  pastor  of  this 
Church.  He  was  installed  July  30,  1868,  but  remained  only  a 
few  months,  resic^ning  January  5,  1869.  During-  his  ministra- 
tion the  name  was  changed  to  the  Liberal  Christian  Congrega- 
tional Society,  but  the  old  name  was  resumed  in  July,  1870. 
Rev.  A.  S.  Nickerson  was  installed  as  pastor  July  7,  1869,  with 
the  installing  sermon  by  Rev.  Warren  H.  Cudworth.  Mr. 
Nickerson  resigned  June  i,  1870. 

At  this  time,  while  without  a  settled  minister,  a  new  church 
building  was  erected  on  the  corner  of  Myrtle  and  West  Emer- 
son Streets,  largely  through  the  efforts  of  the  late  Frederic 
Kidder,  and  Thomas  B.  Peck,  now  of  Walpole,  N.  H.  In 
addition  to  subscriptions  made  bv  the  members,  donations 
were  made  by  the  American  Unitarian  Association,  the  South 
Middlesex  Conference  and  by  the  Boston  churches.  It  was 
dedicated  May  i,  1872,  with  sermon  by  Rev.  Andrew  P. 
Peabody,  D.  D.,  of  Cambridge.  Services  had  been  continued 
meanwhile,  by  the  friendly  offices  of  a  number  of  pastors; 
among  them  Revs.  J.  B.  Green,  H.  H.  Barber,  H.  C.  DeLong 
and  Richard  Metcalf.  Other  neighboring  ministers  and  theo- 
logical students  at  Harvard  University  also  officiated  from 
time  to  time.  During  this  interregnum,  on  one  intensely 
stormy  Sunday,  when  the  committee  had  deemed  it  unwise  to 
send  for  Mr.  Barber,  then  of  Somerville,  the  congregation  was 
surprised  to  see  him  enter  Concert  Hall,  where  they  then  wor- 
shiped ;  and  still  more  so,  when  they  learned  that  he  had 
walked  all  the  way  from  Somerville  in  the  storm,  having  failed 
to  make  connection  with  the  horse-cars. 

This  Societ)'  instituted  a  course  of  lectures  at  this  time  from 
which  financial  aid  was  derived  for  their  enterprise.  Among 
the  speakers  were  Rev.  William  H.  H.  Murray  and  Prof.  }. 
Wesley  Churchill.  This  course  was  the  immediate  prede- 
cessor of  the  Melrose  Lyceum  which  had  a  successful  life  of 
twenty-one  years.  The  Society  was  also  aided  by  a  very  suc- 
cessful fair  given  at  this  time  under  the  auspices  of  the  ladies 
of  the  Society. 

The  first  minister  to  be  settled  in  the  new  church  was 
Rev.  Daniel  M.  Wilson,  who  had  just  graduated  from  the 
Harvard  Divinity  School.  He  was  called  October  24,  and 
installed  November  15,  1872.  Sermon  by  Rev.  Rufus  Ellis, 
D.  D.,  and  an  address   to  the   people   by   Rev.  A.  P.  Peabody, 


178  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

D.  D.  Mr.  Wilson  resigned  March  i,  1876,  and  was  succeeded 
September  i,  1876,  by  Rev.  Nathaniel  Seaver,  Jr.,  who  remained 
five  years,  and  October  29,  1881,  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  Henry 
Westcott,  who  was  settled  over  this  Parish  in  conjunction  with 
the  newly  formed  one  in  Maiden,  October  29,  1881,  conducting 
services  in  Melrose  in  the  morning,  and  at  Maiden  in  the 
evening.  Mr.  Westcott  died  July  14,  1883,  much  lamented. 
A  handsome  memorial  volume  was  published  soon  after  his 
death,  containing  a  number  of  his  sermons,  and  an  appreciative 
memoir  by  John  Oscar  Norris,  which  was  first  read  at  a  meet- 
ing of  the  "  Roundabout  Club."  The  volume  also  contained 
poems,  "At  Rest,"  by  Henry  H.  Clark,  and  "In  Memoriam," 
by  Mary  A.  Livermore. 

The  Rev.  John  H.  Heywood,  D.  D.,  who  had  been  forty 
years  a  pastor  in  Louisville,  Ky.,  was  called  by  the  Church  in 
April,  1884,  and  was  installed  May  6.  He  was  welcomed  at 
the  morning  service  by  John  O.  Norris,  in  behalf  of  the  Parish, 
and  in  the  afternoon  by  addresses  from  Rev.  Andrew  P. 
Peabody,  D.  D.,  Rev.  H.  H.  Barber,  Rev.  Richard  Eddy,  D.  D., 
then  pastor  of  the  Uni\-ersalist  Church,  and  Mrs.  Mary  A. 
Livermore.  During  Mr.  Heywood's  ministry  the  mortgage, 
which  had  rested  on  the  church  from  its  dedication,  was  paid 
off.  Mr.  Heywood  remained  until  September  i,  1889,  when 
he  resigned  and  returned  to  his  old  home  in  Louisville.  When 
his  successor.  Rev.  Joseph  H.  Weeks,  was  installed,  February 
I,  1890,  with  sermon  b}-  Rev.  Minot  J.  Savage,  and  address  to 
the  people  by  Rev.  Henry  C.  DeLong,  Mr.  Heywood  wrote  his 
former  Parish  a  letter  full  of  good  wishes  and  pleasant  remem- 
brances.    Among  other  things  he  said: 

It  is  now  almost  fifty  years  since  I  first  came  to  Louisville  and 
entered  upon  the  active  work  of  the  Christian  ministry.  They  ha\e 
been  j-ears  of  very  varied  experience.  I  have  seen  life  in  its  mani- 
fold phases  of  peace  and  war,  of  joy  and  sorrow,  of  blight  and  bloom, 
but  as  I  look  back  upon  the  half  ccntur}-.  which  has  proved  so  event- 
ful to  our  country  and  the  world,  and  compare  the  past  with  the  pres- 
ent, 1  find  myself  no  less  an  optimist  now  than  I  was  in  the  buoyant 
season  of  }-outh  and  early  manhood.  I  rejoice  with  grateful  joy  at  the 
advance  made  all  along  the  line  —  the  deepened  and  quickened 
thought,  the  larger  hope,  the  more  fixing  failh  and  the  warmer,  more 
generous  love.  Never  much  of  a  sectarian  and  becoming  less  and 
less  so  all  the  while,  with  fuller  appreciation  of  all  earnest,  humane 
work,  with  heartier  "  God  speed  "  for  everyone,  whatever,  wherever, 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY. 


179 


whoever  he  may  be,  who  is  seeking-  and  hil)oi-in<r  in  the  spirit  of  Jesus 
to  do  good  service  to  God  and  man,  in  making  or  in  trying  to  make, 
life  purer,  sweeter,  brighter,  better,  happier,  for  all.  Thus  thinking! 
thus  feeling,  I  can  say  this  from  the  depths  of  my  soul  and  with  the 
emphasis  of  firmest  conviction,  that  never  have  I  felt  warmer  grati- 
tude than  in  the  72nd  year  of  my  life,  for  the  gracious  influence  of  the 
Divine  Mind  and  Spirit— sweet  as  the  air  from  the  spice-islands  of  the 
blessed  — which  have  led  me  and  are  leading  true-hearted  men  and 
women  in  all  communions,  to  the  larger,  profounder  and  more  loving 
conception  and  inteipretation  of  Christianity,  by  which  are  brought 
into  ever  bolder  relief,  the  Fatherhood  of  God,  the  Brotherhood^of 
Man,  the  unbroken  Continuit}-  of  life,  the  ultimate  redemption  of  all 


UXITARIAX  CONGREGATIONAL  CHrkCII. 

souls  from  ignorance,  error,  selfishness  and  sin,  and  their  constant  pro- 
gression in  truth,  knowledge,  righteousness,  and  benificent  activity 
through  the  eternal  ages  — the  grand  conception  and  inspiring  inter- 
pretation which  make  religion  to  the  followers  of  Jesus  what  it  was  to 
him,  "  the  life  of  V.od  in  the  soul  of  man."  and  to  which  the  religion  of 
Christ  "  is  not  so  much  a  theory  to  be  explained  as  a  life  to  be  copied." 

The  Societ>-  now  lU'i'dcd  more  room,  .uul  during  1891,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Ladies'  Aid  Socict>-,  an  cnlaroement  was 
completed  b\'  the  erection  of  an  adjoinino-  buiklino-,  nearl\-  re- 
sembling the  orio-inal  church,  containing  .Suntlay  School  room, 
a  ladies'  parlor,  supper  room  and  kitchen,  costing  $5,000. 

Mr.  Weeks  resigned  December  15,  1891,  and  was  succeeded 
by   Rev.  Thomas   W.   l^rown.   who  was   installed  June    i,  1S92. 


180  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

After  a  useful  and  successful  pastorate  of  six  years,  Mr. 
Brown  resigned  June  i,  1898;  he  still  remains  a  resident  of 
Melrose. 

After  the  resignation  of  Mr.  Brown,  the  Parish  remained 
without  a  regularly  settled  minister  until  November  5,  1899, 
when  the  present  pastor.  Rev.  Thomas  Jay  Horner,  commenced 
his  ministerial  duties  in  accordance  with  a  request  made  by  the 
Society.  There  are  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  church  ad- 
herents. 

The  Sunday  School  connected  with  this  Parish  has  had 
among  its  superintendents,  Rev.  William  S.  Barnes,  Rev. 
Hobart  Clark,  George  H.  Dearborn,  1870  to  1880,  John  O. 
Norris,  1880  to  1890,  George  E.  Munroe,  the  late  Capt.  John  C. 
Maker,  Harlan  E.  Glazier  and  at  present,  George  L.  Davis. 
The  School  has  a  membership  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five. 

The  affiliated  societies  are  the  Young  People's  Religious 
Union,  the  Ladies'  Aid  Society  and  the  Unity  Club. 

The  late  William  F.  Conant,  who  died  in  December  1897, 
was  the  parish  treasurer  for  a  period  of  thirty  )'ears.  His  son- 
in-law,  the  late  Dexter  F.  Munroe,  was  parish  clerk  for  many 
years. 

The  Liberal  Christian  Union  Church.  This  Church  was 
organized  in  1895.  Preaching  services  were  held  at  first  in  the 
hall  of  the  Highland  Club  House,  and  afterward  in  Rogers' 
Hall.  Until  1896,  the  pulpit  was  supplied  by  many  different 
pastors;  then  the  Rev.  Henry  A.  Westall  was  settled  over  the 
Society.  The  congregation  was  a  small  one,  and  after  an  ex- 
istence of  four  or  five  years,  during  which  it  received  aid  from 
the  American  Unitarian  Society,  of  $250  annually,  the  Society 
disbanded. 

Saint  Mary  of  the  Annunciation  Church.  The  names 
of  the  first  Catholic  families  li\ing  in  North  Maiden,  were 
Conway,  Kelley  and  Doherty.  A  few  others  came  about  the 
time  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad  was  built  in  1845.  From 
185 1  to  1854,  the  Melrose  Catholics  attended  mass  at  the 
Wakefield  church.  In  the  latter  year,  Melrose  was  made  a 
part  of  the  newly  established  parish  of  the  Immaculate  Con- 
ception, on  Pleasant  Street,  Maiden,  near  the  Medford  line. 
For  nearly  twenty  years,  the  Melrose  Catholics  worshiped 
with  the  Maiden  parish,  during  which  time  the  first  mass  in 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  181 

Melrose  was  celebrated  on  Christmas  day  1868,  by  Rev.  Thomas 
Gleason,  of  Maiden,  in  Masonic  Hall,  corner  of  Main  Street 
and  Wyoming  Avenue. 

In  1873,  Melrose  was  attached  as  a  mission  to  the  Stoneham 
parish,  under  the  pastorate  of  Father  William  H.  Fitzpatrick. 
After  a  few  years,  the  number  of  Catholics  had  increased  in 
numbers  sufficient  to  warrant  the  establishing  of  a  new  parish 
in  Melrose,  which  was  done  and  placed  under  the  charge  of 
Father  Fitzpatrick,  in  conjunction  with  his  Stoneham  duties. 
When  the  First  Baptist  Society  erected  its  present  brick 
chapel,  in  1874,  the  church  edifice  then  standing  on  its  site,  at 
the  corner  of  Main  and  Upham  Streets,  was  sold  to  the 
Catholics  for  the  sum  of  $2,200,  removed  to  a  lot  on  Dell  Ave- 
nue, costing  Si, 000,  remodelled  and  named  St.  Bridget's  Church. 
Previous  to  its  completion  several  services  were  held  in 
Masonic  Hall,  Father  Fitzpatrick  ofificiating.  The  first  service 
in  their  church  was  held  in  October,  1873.  Here  the  Catholics 
worshiped  until  their  present  large  and  handsome  edifice  was 
erected  in  1893-4,  on  the  corner  of  Herbert  and  Myrtle  Streets. 
The  church  lot  contains  an  acre  of  land,  having  a  frontage  on 
the  three  streets,  Herbert,  Myrtle  and  Grove. 

The  corner-stone  of  the  new  church  was  laid  in  1891.  Rev. 
Dennis  O'Callaghan  delivering  the  sermon.  It  was  dedicated 
in  November,  1893,  with  appropriate  exercises,  and  sermon  by 
Rev.  John  P.  Dore  of  Chicago.  The  cost  of  land  and  edifice 
was  $55,000.  It  was  originally  intended  by  Father  O'Farrell, 
to  build  the  church  of  stone,  modelling  it  after  the  famous 
Melrose  Abbey;  but  it  ha\ing  been  discovered  that  the  sub- 
stratum soil  was  of  such  sandy  and  unsubstantial  nature  it  was 
deemed  unwise  to  build  such  a  hea\y  structure  as  that  would 
have  been;  therefore  the  plans  were  changed,  and  the  present 
Romanesque  edifice  with  a  rock-faced  Lynnficld  granite  base- 
ment substituted. 

The  Melrose  mission  was  raised  to  parish  dignity  towards 
the  close  of  the  summer  of  1894,  the  name  changed  from  St. 
Bridget  to  St.  Mary,  and  the  Rev.  Francis  J.Glynn  became  the 
first  resident  pastor,  and  still  remains. 

As  the  parish  now  numbers  about  two  thousand.  Father 
Glynn  is  aided  in  his  parochial  duties  by  Re\-.  Daniel  J, 
Carney  as  assistant,  who  rccei\ed  his  appointment  January  i, 
1897. 


182  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

In  1895,  the  handsome  residence  of  Albert  D.  Holmes,  on 
Myrtle  Street,  near  the  church,  was  purchased  for  a  rectory, 
at  a  cost  of  $7,500. 


ST.   MARY'S  CHURCH. 

After  the  new  church  edifice  was  built,  the  old  one  on   Dell 
Avenue,  was  abandoned  for  religious  services,  and  is  now  used 


ECCLESIASTICAL  HISTORY.  183 

as  a  parish  hall.  Here  the  Younij  Men's  Catholic  L\'ceum  aiul 
other  associations  meet. 

Previous  to  the  purchase  of  their  first  church  in  1873,  a  Sun- 
day School  had  been  organized  as  early  as  May  i,  1870,  by 
James  P.  Murphy,  and  its  sessions  were  held  in  different  halls. 
It  now  has  a  membership  of  425. 

At  the  time  Father  Glynn  came  to  the  parish  the  indebted- 
ness on  the  property  had  been  reduced  to  $20,000.  Some  im- 
provements ha\'e  since  been  added  costing  a  number  of  thous- 
ands of  dollars,  but  under  his  energetic  management,  aided  by 
a  church  debt  society  which  he  organized,  the  church  will  soon 
be  free  of  debt. 

OLD    TIME    CHURCH    GOING. 

Previous  to  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  centur}',  and  for 
some  years  afterwards,  the  residents  of  North  Maiden  had  to 
wend  their  way  to  "  Middletown,"  either  on  foot,  horseback,  or 
by  team,  on  the  Sabbath  day,  to  attend  public  worship,  as  they 
did  also,  on  election  days  to  vote.  Relative  to  these  facts,  and 
as  a  picture  of  those  early  days,  the  following  from  EcJiocs  from 
Mystic  Side,  is  here  gi\'en: 

Our  sympathies,  even  at  this  late  day.  go  out  to  our  North  and  South 
Maiden  iriends,  when  we  think  of  their  hurrying  under  the  rays  of  a 
hot  sun,  or  plodding  through  the  deep  snows,  over  such  a  long  stretch 
of  land,  and  then  to  enter  a  not  over-heated  room,  and  seat  themselves 
on  hard,  wooden  benches,  and  listen  to  a  long,  and,  we  imagine, 
rather  a  doctrinal  sermon.  Then  there  was  the  tithing  man,  who  stood 
watching  read}'  to  reprimand  all  unruly  boys,  whispering  girls,  or 
sleeping  parents.  At  a  meeting  of  the  selectmen  in  1684,  it  was  agreed 
and  ordered,  that  "  all  householders  or  masters  of  familyes  in  this 
Towne  shall  take  their  turns  successively  every  Lord's  day,  both  be 
low  and  in  the  galires." 

On  entering  the  church,  the  women  were  expected  to  pass  up  one 
flight  of  stairs,  and  the  men  up  those  on  the  opposite  side,  and  a  rail- 
ing was  placed  between  the  galleries  in  which  they  sat.  A  committee 
was  always  appointed  to  assign  seats  to  each  person  in  town,  and  this 
act  was  called  "  dignifying  the  seats."  The  choice  fell  to  those  paying 
the  highest  rates  towards  the  support  of  the  minister,  while  dignity, 
age  and  deafness  were  considered. 

Under  date  of  1692  the  first  grant  of  separate  seats  was  given,  and 
it  was  voted  "  that  corronal  page  have  liberty  to  build  a  pue,  and  in 
case  corronal  page  leave  the  seat  it  shall  returne  to  the  towne."     Later 


184  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

it  was  "  voted  that  collonal  paige  hes  liberty  to  remove  his  pewe  into 
That  corner  of  y^  meeting-hous  by  y^  little  dore."  "  Voted  that  deken 
Green  and  John  Greenland  are  goe  and  Treat  with  collonal  paige  in 
order  to  y^  Removing  of  his  pew."  Other  permits  were  given,  from 
time  to  time,  until  the  seats  were  alone  reserved  for  the  galleries. 

It  was  also  voted,  that  certain  persons  were  to  be  allowed  a  piece  of 
land  to  erect  a  stable  to  shelter  their  horses  "on  the  Sabbath  days." 
A  space  of  four  feet  was  given  each  person,  which  was  ample  room, 
since  the  farmers  rode  on  their  farm  horses,  and  were  often  accompa- 
nied by  their  wives,  seated  on  pillions  behind  them. 

Quartette  choirs  were  not  in  vogue  until  a  much  later  period,  and  as 
books  were  not  plentiful,  one  of  the  deacons  would  read  two  lines  of  a 
hymn,  the  congregation  would  then  sing  them,  when  he  would  read 
two  more,  and  so  on  to  the  end.  This  was  called  "  deaconing  the 
hymn."  Many  of  them  were  not  of  a  particularly  cheering  nature, 
being  written  as  lessons  to  ponder  over  rather  than  for  diversion,  and 
were  oftentimes  made  doubly  plaintive  by  being  set  to  minor  music. 
We  copy  a  few  for  the  perusal  of  those  who  are  fond  of  verse  :  — 

"  Hark  !   from  the  tombs,  a  doleful  souud  ; 
Mine  ears  atteud  the  cry — 
Ye  living  men,  come,  view  the  ground. 
Where  you  must  shortl}'  lie." 

One  story,  repeated  and  vouched  for  by  a  well-known  divine,  is,  that 
a  much-respected  pastor  over  a  small  society,  departed  this  life,  and 
the  usual  funeral  ceremonies  were  held  in  the  church.  The  choir 
was  invited  to  assist  on  this  solemn  occasion,  and  being  desirous 
to  add  as  much  as  possible  to  make  the  exercises  interesting,  selected 
and  sang  the  only  anthem  that  they  had  well  practiced  together,  many 
repetitions  of  these  words  occurring : 

"Believing,  we  rejoice,  to  see  the  curse  removed." 

Such  hymns  were  sung,  and  dutifulh-  listened  to  generally,  but  on 
one  occasion,  when  a  verj-  just  and  worthy  man  was  having  the  last 
selemn  rites  performed,  and  the  minister  selected  the  hj-mn  — 

"  See  how  the  aged  sinner  goes, 
Laden  with  grief  and  heavy  woes, 
Down  to  the  dwellings  of  the  dead, 
With  endless  curses  on  his  head  ;  " 

the  choir  refused  to  sing  it,  and  another  was  chosen. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

EDUCATIONAL    HISTORY. 

NORTH  Maiden  had  no  school-house  of  its  own  until 
about  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century.  But  as 
early  as  1691,  the  town  records  show  that  action  was 
taken  for  the  education  of  its  children.  No  doubt  it  had  done 
so  earlier,  but  there  is  no  earlier  record  than  the  following: 
"  Ezekiel  Jenkins  continuing  to  be  the  Townes  Scoule  Master." 
In  1693,  there  is  an  item  equally  concise:  "John  Sprague 
jun!  Schoolmaster."  August  24,  1699,  the  record  is  gi\-en  a 
little  more  in  detail : 

John  Sprague  chose  scoolmaster  for  this  present  j-eer :  or  for  one 
yeer,  it  is  left  to  y^  select-men  to  agree  with  him  what  he  shall  haue  for 
his  incurigment  to  keep  scool  for  one  yeer. 

In  1702,  the  town  began  to  provide  education  for  the  differ- 
ent parts  of  the  same,  as  shown  b\-  the  following  vote: 

John  Sprague  Is  chose  scool-marstar  for  ye  3-eer  insuing  To  learn 
Children  &  j-outh  to  Reed  and  wright  and  to  Refmetick  acording  to 
his  best  Skill.  And  he  is  to  have  ten  pounds  paid  him  by  y^  town  for 
his  pains.  The  scool  is  to  be  free  for  all  y^  Inhabitants  of  this  town : 
and  to  be  kept  at  foure  severall  places  at  foure  severall  times  one 
quartar  of  a  j'eer  in  a  place :  In  such  places  whar  those  five  men 
shall  apoint,  namly :  Lent  Henery  Green,  Lent  John  Line.  Lemuell 
Jenkins,  Tho  Okes  And  Nathaniell  Upham :  who  are  chose  by  y-'  town 
for  y^  pur|Dose. 

Just  where  the  school  was  kept  in  North  Maiden  it  is  hard 
to  say.  But  by  the  record  for  the  next  year  it  would  seem 
that  the  North  Maldenites  had  to  travel  to  the  centre  of  the 
town: 

by  a  uote  Ezeckiel  Jenkins  is  chose  scoolmastar  for  this  presant 
yeer:  and  The  Scoole  to  be  Kept  at  his  one  hous:  he  is  to  haue  3 
pounds  for  y«  yeer :  and  y^  befitit  of  y*^  scoUars. 

This   means  he  was   to  ha\e   the  benefit  of  whatever  small 


186  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

amounts  of  money  that  may  have  been  paid  by  the  scholars 
for  any  purpose,  besides  the  three  pounds.  Mr.  Jenkins  was 
again  elected  on  similar  terms  in  1704.  He  died  in  1705,  and 
was  buried  in  Sandy  Bank,  or  Bell  Rock  Cemetery.  The 
gravestone  bears  the  following  epitaph: 

Here  Lyes  y^  Body  of  |  Ezekiel  Jenkins  Aged  37  Years  |  Who  Died 
July  ye  30'h  1 705  Mauldens  |  Late  School  Master  From  A  Painfull  |  Life 
Is  Gone  To  Take  His  Rest  His  ]  Lord  Hath  Calld  Hi'"  Who^e  . 

The  next  reference  in  the  records  to  any  school  privileges 
for  the  northern  part  of  the  town  occurs  under  date  of  July  12, 
1710,  as  follows: 

nathaniell  waite  chose  Scoolmaster  voted  y*  y^  Scool  shall  be  Re- 
moued  into  3  parts  of  y^  Town — The  first  half  yeer  in  y^  center  — 
and  one  quartar  in  ye  southwardly  end  And  one  quarter  in  ye  nothardly 
end  of  ye  Town. 

•For  some  reason  Mr.  Waite  did  not  serve;  and  later  in 
the  year  "  m''  Samuell  wigglesv\orth,"  son  of  Rev.  Michael 
Wigglesworth,  author  of  The  Day  of  Doom,  was  engaged  for  a 
six  months'  session,  with  this  vote: 

y'  ye  Schoole  shall  be  kept  ye  first  four  months  in  nV  parsons  hous 
And  then  ye  School  shall  be  Remoued  into  sum  hous  Towards  ye  north 
end  of  The  Town  ye  othar  Two  months. 

Mr.  Wigglesworth  was  engaged  for  a  second  term,  when  it 
was 

Voted  Ther  shall  be  sixteen  pounds  money  Rais"^'  for  To  pay  ye 
schoolmastar  namly  nv  Wigglesworth,  and  That  ye  school  shall  be  kept 
4  months  in  ye  body  of  ye  Town  And  Two  months  at  ye  northwardly 
end  of  sd  town. 

The  location  and  building  of  a  school-house  in  the  early 
times  was  a  source  of  excitement  and  contention,  as  is  often 
the  case  in  later  years.     At  a  town  meeting  held  May  18,  171 1 : 

Jt  was  put  to  vote  whether  ye  Town  would  buld  a  Schoolhous  and 
set  jt  on  ye  Towns  land  on  ye  west  side  of  ye  way  ouer  against  ye 
wachhous.  And  ye  School  to  be  kept  two  thirds  of  ye  time  y'  a  School- 
mastar shall  be  jnproud  jn  ye  s^i  Schoole-hous  and  ye  othar  third  part  of 
ye  time  at  ye  northerly  end  of  The  town :  neer  or  a  mong  ye  Greens  jn 
sum  priuet  Roome  And  ye  hous  to  be  bult  at  ye  charg  of  ye  town  and 
also  ye  charg  of  priuet  Roome :  And  ye  vote  past  on  ye  negitiue. 

Six  months  later,  November  20,  171 1,  it  was  voted: 


EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY.  187 

That  ther  be  a  School-hous  bult  —  Also  voted  y'  y^  Schoolhous  shall 
be  set  between  y"^  pound  and  John  Wilsons  hous. 

Up  to  this  time  schools  had  been  kept  in  the  watch-house 
and  in  private  houses;  but  in  1712,  as  per  above  vote,  a  build- 
ing- was  erected  for  the  purpose,  as  is  seen  by  the  following 
action  of  the  town;  this  was  Maiden's  first  school  building: 

Voted  y'  y^  scool-hous  shall  be  bult  20  foots  jn  length  16  foots  wide 
6  foot  stud  between  joints.  A  chimney,  nere  seven  foots  between  y^ 
gams 

decreased  the  capacity  of  the  room;  and  when  its  spacious 
"  harth  "  was  blazing  with  its  pile  of  green  logs  the  physical 
discomfort  of  the  child  who  sat  on  the  nearest  bench  could  only 
have  been  equalled  b}-  that  of  the  unfortunate  shiverer  who 
sat  by  the  door.  Of  course,  it  was  of  one  story  and  its  walls 
were  filled  with  brick  "to  y^  plaets,"  in  that  good,  cold-defy- 
ing fashion  which  ma)'  yet  be  found  in  some  old  houses,  and 
which  puts  to  shame  the  shams  of  modern  construction  ^ 

William  Green,  the  "carpender,"  was  to  receive  thirty-five 
pounds.  For  the  somewhat  unique  contract  for  this  work,  be- 
tween the  Selectmen  and  Mr.  Green,  see  sketch  of  the  Green 
family.     January  17,  17H/5  it  was  voted  : 

That  ye  school  shall  be  moued  to  John  greens  house  jn  ye  woods :  — 
for  two  months  :  which  js  to  be  March  and  April  next  ensuing  the  date 
heerof. 

This  was  the  house  of  the  original  settler,  Thomas  Green,  at 
the  Highlands,  west  of  Main,  and  north  of  Franklin  Streets. 
The  next  year  it  was 

vot :  y'  The  Schoolmastar  shall  be  Removed  To  y^  northardly  end 
of  This  Town  To  Keep  y^  school  ye  Remaining  part  of  ye  Time  agreed 
on  for  him  to  be  among  us. 

Occasional  votes  in  the  town  records  show  that  schooling 
was  pro\ided  for  the  north  end  of  the  town  a  portion  of  the 
time  only.  June  17,  1723,  Mr.  Buckman  was  engaged  to  keep 
the  school  twelve  months,  at  a  salary  of  four  pounds.  That 
year  it  was  kept  five  months  in  the  centre,  three  and  a  half  at 
the  south  part,  and  three  and  a  half  at  "sum  conuenant  place 
jn  The  northardly  end  of  maiden." 

For  the  next  twenty  years  nothing  definite  is  said  about 
the  schooling  for  the  North  End. 

^  Corey.    History  of  Maiden,  dx^. 


188  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

In  1744,  it  was  voted: 

That  the  School  shall  be  keept  one  quarter  part  of  the  time  yearly- 
near  the  house  of  Abraham  Skinner  and  one  quarter  part  of  the  time 
yearly  near  the  hous  of  Thomas  Burditt  Ju";  and  another  quarter  part 
of  the  time  yearly  near  the  hous  of  John  Colman  or  the  house  of  the 
widow  Mercy  Pratt  provided  that  perticular  persons  will  be  at  the 
Charge  of  erecting  a  School  house  at  each  of  those  places. 

According  to  a  MS.  left  by  Mr.  Barrett,  the  house  of  the 
widow  Pratt  stood  where  now  stands  the  Lynde  mansion,  on 
the  corner  of  Grove  and  Lebanon  Streets;  and  Mr.  Colman's 
about  forty  rods  north,  on  the  west  side  of  Lebanon  Street, 
which  was  then  the  old  1653  road.  The  school-house  stood 
about  half  way  between  these  places,  on  the  east  side,  about 
on  the  corner  of  Lebanon  and  Laurel  Streets.  He  had  heard 
it  described  by  those  who  remembered  it,  "as  a  small,  un- 
painted  shanty,  with  a  brick  fireplace  in  one  corner.  Old  Mr. 
John  Lynde  used  to  say  that  Master  Swain  who  taught  the 
school  there,  would  frequently,  in  school  hours,  send  one  of 
the  scholars  to  his  father's  house  for  a  mug  of  cider." 

During  this  period,  of  about  a  century,  the  cause  of  educa- 
tion in  Maiden  seems  to  have  had  a  varied  experience,  as  the 
town  was  several  times  presented  at  the  Quarter  Sessions  for 
not  maintaining  a  grammar  school;  but  in  1750,  educational 
matters  were  improved,  and  Nathaniel  Jenkins,  Jr.,  was  chosen 
school-master.  He  retained  this  office  for  a  period  of  twenty- 
five  years,  until  he  acquired  the  well-earned  title  of  "good  old 
Master  Jenkins."  His  original  occupation  was  that  of  a  shoe- 
maker. But  the  guardians  of  the  town,  who  had  e\-idently 
been  embarrassed  for  a  long  time  in  their  endeaxors  to  procure 
a  suitable  teacher,  thought  they  discerned  in  him  some  of  the 
necessary  qualifications.  After  some  hesitation,  which  was  re- 
moved in  part  by  the  fact  that  his  health  was  inadequate  for 
his  mechanical  calling,  he  acquiesced  in  their  proposal.  To 
prepare  himself  for  his  new  \ocation,  he,  for  want  of  a  normal 
school,  put  himself  under  the  instruction  of  the  Rev.  ]\Ir. 
P^merson  for  about  twelve  months.  Ha\ing  b>-  this  time  ob- 
tained some  knowledge  of  the  languages,  and  the  approbation 
of  several  clergymen,  he  entered  with  zeal  upon  his  duties  as 
an  instructor  of  3'outh.  He  is  represented  as  a  pious  man  and 
an  excellent  teacher,  though  in  his  practice  the  rod  was  not  a 
mere  symbol  of  authority.     It  had  a  use,  as  well  as  a  meaning. 


EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY. 


189 


This  is  a  view  of    the  very  curious  and  unique  little    box- 
desk,  which  belonq^ed  to  this  good  school-master,  and  which 

he    carried    back    and    forth 
with    him    from    precinct   to 
precinct.     As  there  is  a  hole 
in    the   top   of    the  back,  he 
evidently  hung  it  upon  a  nail. 
It   probably  held  his  books, 
pen,  ink  and  paper,  and  possi- 
bly, his  useful  rod."^    In  those 
days  he  taught  school  for  six 
months    in    Maiden    center, 
three    months    in    the    south 
part  of  the  town,  now  Ever- 
ett, and  three  months  in  the 
north  part,  now  Melrose. 
In  1789,  Joseph  Barrett,  of  North   Maiden,  was   chairman  of 
the  School  Committee.     That    }'ear  school  was    kept    in    the 
little  old  school-house,  four  and  a  half  months;    the  next  year 
four  months. 


THE  JENKINS  DESK. 


ou^ci'X'  ^uJ^efciiHi 


yu 


In  1799,  the  town  chose  a  committee,  consisting  of  Joseph 
Barrett,  Bernard  Green,  and  Captain  Amos  Sargent,  to  draw  a 
plan,  and  estimate  the  cost  of  a  new  school-house  for  the  north 
part  of  the  town.  They  reported,  and  the  sum  of  S600  was 
appropriated.  Joseph  Barrett  and  William  Emerson  were  the 
committee  to  build  the  same.  They  bought  a  small  piece  of 
land,  in  1800,  of  Ezra  Howard,  on  the  west  side  of  Lebanon,  a 
few  rods  south  of  Upham  Street,  then  Upham  Lane,  and  built 
thereon  a  school-house.  It  was  about  twenty  by  twenty-fi\e 
feet  in  size,  and  low  studded.  It  was  an  unpainted  building 
with  board  blinds  for  the  windows,  with  a  small  porch  over 
the  door  on  the  south  side.  Artemas  Barrett  went  to  school 
in  this  building;  and  the  manuscript  before  quoted  gives  this 
description  of  the  school-house. 

As  you  entered,  there  was  an  open  space  ;  rows  of  seats,  with  desks 
in  front,  on  each  side  of  the  house  with  an  aisle  passing  between  them 

-  This  desk  now  belongs  to  Mrs.  great-great  grand  daughter  of  Mr. 
Adeline   A.  Nichols,  of  Maiden,  a      Jenkins. 


190 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


on  each  side  to  the  wall ;  each  row  would  seat  about  six  scholars.  A 
large  wooden  desk  stood  at  the  north  end  of  the  house  with  a  platform 
raised  in  its  rear  where  the  teacher  was  seated.  There  was  an  open 
space  in  front  of  the  desk  where  the  boys  put  their  hats.  In  the  middle 
of  the  house  stood  a  massive  stove  in  which  wood  was  burnt  in  large 
clefts  about  two  feet  in  length.  It  was  the  practice  in  those  days  for 
the  scholars  to  take  their  turns  in  building  the  hres  and  sweeping  out. 
The  writer  well  remembers  when  his  turn  came  of  going  as  soon  as  he 
could  see,  and  how  he  felt  when  entering  that  dark  room  before  he 
could  open  the  close  board  blinds  and  let  in  the  light.  He  also 
remembers  how  long  it  was  before  the  room  could  be  made  even  com- 
fortable and  how  the  scholars  when  they  arrived  would  gather  around 
that  old  stove  and  remain  as  long  as  allowed  to.  And  frequently 
during  school  hours,  the  scholars  would  have  to  beg  the  privilege  of 
going  to  the  stove  in  order  to  get  warm. 

About  the  time  this  school  house  was  built  the  town  was  formed  into 
districts,  each  drawing  their  proportion  of  the  money  raised  and  man- 
aging their  own  affairs.  It  was  the  practice  in  those  days  during  the 
summer  months  to  employ  a  school-marm,  as  she  was  called,  as  only 
the  smaller  children  then  attended  school.  In  the  winter  the  boys,  and 
some  of  them  quite  large,  nearly  men  grown,  attended  and  a  master 
was  then  employed. 


the;  old  school  house;. 


This  was  before  matches  had  been  invented,  and  these 
scholars  then  took  their  turn  in  buildino-  fires,  and  they  had  to 
take  live  coals  of  fire  with  them,  from  their  homes.  At  this 
time  Maiden  had  four  school-houses;  this  one  at  the  North 
End,  one  where  Sprague  Street  joins  Salem  Street,  one  on 
Nelson's  Hill  at  the  South  End,  aiul  one  on  the  Lynn  road, 
near  Maplewood  Square. 

In  this  little  old   school-house,  Robert  Gerry,  who   died  in 


EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY. 


191 


Stoneham,  April  i,  1873,  in  his  ninetieth  year,  taught  school 
during  the  winter  season  for  twenty  four  years,  in  succession, 
commencing  in  1S03.  Il<^i't  the  North  Maldenites  learned  to 
"read,  write,  and  cipher."  '1  he  boys  and  girls  liv^'ng  in  the 
west  part  of  the  town,  came  "across  lots,"  passing  by  the  old 
Tainter  or  Howard  house,  which  stood  where  the  Swett  block 
now  is,  crossing  Ell  Pond  brook  on  a  log. 

Occasionally,  when  school  did  not  keep  here,  the  scholars, 
some  of  them,  went  to  "middletown"  school,  going  over  the 
old  road  by  the  foot  of  Boston  Rock. 

This  old   school-house  was    abandoned  when    the    town    of 
Maiden  built  a  new  one,  in   1829,  on  Upham  Street,  on  land 
conve}'ed  to  the  "North  School  District,"  b}'  William  Dix,  for 
S50.     It  was  built  b}-  the 
school-master  Mr.  Gerry. 
This    was    burned    about 

the    year    1845,    '^■'"^1    '^'i"  ( 

other    one    built    on    its  ^ 

site;  in  it  was  kept  a  Primary,  Intermediate,  and  Grammar 
School.  Others  who  taught  school  in  this  house,  besides  Mr. 
Gerry,  were  Dr.  Levi  Gould,  Nelson  Cochran  and  Rev.  John 
C.  Ingalls.  This  house  was  burned  in  April,  1874,  and  was 
succeeded  b\'  the  present  Sewall  School  House,  formerly  called 
the  Centre  School  House,  standing  next  to  the  P^irst  Baptist 
Church. 

This  house  that  was  burned,  built  by  Mr.  Gerry  in  1829,  was 
the  only  schcjol-house  existing  at  the  time  Melrose  was  in- 
corporated, in  1850.'^  Ver)'  soon  after  this  others  had  to  be 
built;  one  on  Lynde  .Street,  one  on   Green   Street,  and  one  on 


■^  Previous  to  this  there  had  ex- 
isted for  a  few  years,  a  private  in- 
stitution of  learning,  situated  on 
Berwick  Street,  near  the  corner  of 
Herbert  Street.  This  was  known 
as  "  Academy  Hall."  It  was  after- 
wards moved  to  Main  Street,  where 
it  became  Lyceum  Hall,  was  used 
by  the  Town,  and  for  various  other 
purposes;  and  perished  in  the  fire 
of  August  20,  1870.  In  the  Uiiivcr- 
salist  Truinpt't,  for  185 1,  the  follow- 
ing advertisement  of  this  institu- 
tion appeared  :    Melrose  Academy. 


The  vSpring  Term  of  this  Institu- 
tion, situated  on  the  Boston  and 
Maine  Railroad,  seven  miles  from 
Hay  market  vSquare,  Boston,  will 
commence  on  Monday  March  4, 
under  the  charge  of  its  present 
Teacher,  Mr.  D.  C.  Quimby,  A.  M., 
Principal  ;  Miss  Caroline  M.  Rip- 
ley, Preceptress;  Mr.  J.  W".  Tur- 
ner, Teacher  of  IMusic. 

The  proprietors  have  permission 
to  refer  to  B.  B.  Mussey,  Esq.,  Rev. 
S.  Slreeler,  T.  Whittemore,  T. 
Starr    King,    Charles   Brooks,    Syl- 


192 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Foster  Street,  opposite  the  end  of  Vinton  Street,  all  built  in 
1853,  costing  Si, 600  each;  then  the  small  ones  on  Franklin  and 
Upham  Streets,  in  1855;  now  all  abandoned  for  newer  and  better 
ones.  That  on  Foster  Street  was  succeeded  by  the  present  D. 
W.  Gooch  School  building,  which  was  built  in  1886,  costing 
$14,000,  remodelled  and  enlarged  in  1892,  at  a  cost  of  $18,500. 
The  committee  to  build  consisted  of  Moses  S.  Page,  Royal  P. 
Barry,  Daniel  Norton,  Joel  Snow,  and  W.  Irving  Ellis;  to 
remodel,  John  O.  Norris,  John  jC.  Maker,  William  D.  Stewart, 
A.  Eugene  Upham,  Decius  Beebe,  Albert  B.  Franklin  and 
Henry  Brown. 

March  30,  1868,  the  town  appropriated  $20,000  for  a  new  High 

School  building,  and  Janu- 
ary 14,  1869,  and  additional 
sum  of  $7,500,  was  added. 
The  building  committee  con- 
sisted of  Messrs.  Rufus  Smith, 
Daniel  W.  Gooch,  Charles  H. 
Isburgh,  Wingate  P.  Sargent, 
Walter  Babb,  George  New- 
hall  and  George  A.  Mansfield. 
The  site  selected  was  30,000 
feet  of  land  situated  on  Em- 
erson Street,  at  the  corner  of 
Lake  Avenue,  purchased  of 
Messrs.  David  L.  &  John  G. 
Webster.  It  was  finished  and 
dedicated  July  15,  1869.  It  was  destroyed  b>'  fire  January  25, 
1897. 

By  the  building  of  this  High  School  House,  the  crowded 
condition  of  the  then  existing  schools  was  relieved.  At  this 
time  Melrose  had  seven  school-houses,  and  eighteen  teachers. 
As  our  town  was  increasing  in  population  very  fast,  additional 


THE  OLD  HIGH  SCHOOL  HOUSE. 


vanus  Cobb,  Boston.  H.  Ballou, 
2d,  D.  D.,  F.  A.  Farley,  Brooklyn, 
N.  Y.,  H.  M.  Laue,  John  G. 
Whittier,  Aniesbury,  Mass.,  Daniel 
Osgood,  M.  D.,  Mantanzas,  Cuba. 

Parents  and  Guardians  may  rest 
assured  that  nothing  of  a  Secta- 
rian nature  will  be  allowed  in  the 
vSchool,  and  the  morals  of  all  pupils 


will  be   carefully   guarded   by   the 
teacher. 

Terms:  English  Branch,  includ- 
ing Surveying,  Navigation,  Book- 
keeping, the  Natural  Sciences,  per 
term,  |6.oo;  Higher  Mathematics, 
per  term,  16. 00;  Ancient  and  Mod- 
ern Languages,  l^y.oo;  Oriental 
Branches,  |8.oq. 


EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY.  193 

accommodations  became  necessary.  Outside  halls  and  rooms 
were  rented  for  a  while.  The  Centre  School  House,  which  was 
burned  in  1874,  was  rebuilt  at  a  cost  of  Sio.ooo,  by  a  committee 
consisting  of  George  A.  Mansfield,  \V.  Ir\!ng  Ellis  and  John 
O.  Norris. 

At  this  time,  1883,  when  it  was  found  necessary  to  build  other 
houses,  there  were  twenty-four  teachers,  besides  one  elocution- 
ist and  one  music  teacher. 

The  Franklin  School  House,  now  known  as  the  Whittier 
School,  a  four  room  building,  was  erected  in  1884,  on  Frank- 
lin Street,  near  Sargent  Street,  at  a  cost  of  $8,200.  The  com- 
mittee was  Joel  Snow,  Rufus  A.  White,  Thomas  W.  Ripley, 
Moses  S.  Page  and  John  VV.  Farwell. 

In  1883,  a  new  school-house,  now  known  as  the  Horace  Mann 
School,  was  built  on  the  corner  of  Gro\e  and  M)-rtle  Streets, 
at  a  cost  of  ^10,770.  Daniel  Norton,  John  C).  Norris,  Julius  S. 
Clark,  W.  Irving  Ellis  and  Dexter  Pratt  served  on  that  com- 
mittee. 

During  the  year  1885,  the  Converse  School  building  was 
built  on  Washington  .Street,  at  the  P\dls,  with  an  appropriation 
of  $5,000,  on  land  given  to  the  town  by  Hon.  Elisha  S.  Con- 
verse, for  whom  the  schcjol  is  named,  very  appropriatel)'.  For 
some  time  before,  this  school  had  been  kept  in  the  Fells  Chapel, 
rent  free,  through  the  kindness  of  Mr.  Converse.  The  com- 
mittee to  erect  this  school-house,  consisted  of  John  \V.  Far- 
well,  John  Robson,  Royal  P.  Barry,  Daniel  Norton  and  George 
H.  Dearborn. 

As  the  children  in  the  .Swain's  Pond  District  had  become 
quite  numerous,  it  was  found  necessary,  in  1886,  to  build  a 
small  school-house  on  .Swain's  Pond  A\enue,  between  the  pond 
and  Lebanon  Street,  thus  accommodating  our  scholars,  who 
had  been  attending  the  Maiden  schools,  at  cjuite  an  expense  to 
Melrose.  The  committee  to  budd  was  John  B.  Souther,  Jesse 
VV.  Page,  Thomas  Poison,  Thomas  W.  Ripley  and  Jesse  A. 
Dill      The  house  cost  $2,500  and  was  named  the  Riple>-  School. 

In  1890,  the  town  \oted  to  emi:)loy  a  Superintendent  of 
Schfjols,  and  Guy  C.  Channell  was  elected  by  the  School  Com- 
mittee to  fill  that  position.  He  was  re-elected  for  three  suc- 
cessive years,  and  in  1893.  ^^'^^  succeeded  b}'  the  late  Benja- 
min ¥.  Robinson,  who  died  June  16,  1898,  and  he  was  succeeded 
by  PVed  H.  Nickerson,  the  present  superintendent. 


194  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

In  1 891,  the  town  appropriated  the  sum  of  $46,000  for  the 
purpose  of  building  two  new  school-houses  ;  the  Mary  A. 
Livermore  School,  on  a  lot  of  land  between  Main  and  Lebanon 
Streets,  with  an  entrance  from  both  streets,  and  the  four-room 
house  corner  of  First  and  Eleventh  Streets,  now  known  as  the 
VVinthrop  School;  also  for  alterins^  and  improvinfj  the  High 
School  building  on  Emerson  Street.  The  followmg  commit- 
tee was  appointed  to  carry  out  these  instructions:  Francis  S. 
Hesseltine,  Charles  W.  Higgins,  Franlc  E.  Orcutt,  George  L. 
Morse,  John  W.  Farwell,  Rufus  A.  White,  Albert  B.  Franklin, 
Curtis  C.  Goss  and  George  H.  Dearborn. 

The  same  )'ear,  1891,  the  School  Committee,  with  Frank  L. 
Washburn,  Joel  Snow  and  Sidney  H.  Buttrick  added,  was 
authorized  to  make  a  four-room  extension  to  the  Grove  Street 
School  Jiouse,  now  the  Horace  Mann  School,  with  an  appro- 
priation of  $1 1,000. 

In  i8q2,  another  new  school-house  was  built,  on  Warren 
Street,  now  known  as  the  Warren  School,  costing  $16,000.  The 
committee  consisted  of  three  members  of  the  School  Commit- 
tee, John  O.  Norris,  John  C.  Maker  and  William  D.  Stewart, 
and  Charles  W'.  Cook,  Thomas  W.  Ripley,  Frank  W.  Hunt  and 
Joel  Snow.  At  this  time,  1892,  Melrose  had  twelve  school- 
houses,  and  was  employing  forty-three  teachers,  besides  one 
for  music  and  one  for  drawing. 

Very  soon  after  this  date,  our  population  increased  so 
rapidly  that  some  of  the  abandoned  school-houses  had  to  be 
utilized,  together  with  other  outside  accommodations;  and  so 
great  became  the  pressure  for  more  school  room,  that  the  town 
took  heroic  action  in  the  spring  of  1896.  The  School  Com- 
mittee and  the  Superintendent  of  Schools  had  made  frequent 
and  urgent  appeals  for  se\'eral  years;  therefore,  at  the  Town 
Meeting  held  February  24,  1896,  the  following  vote  was  passed: 

That  the  town  treasurer  be  and  is  hereby  authorized,  in  the  name  of 
the  town,  to  borrow  two  hundred  thousand  dollars  (>2oo.ooo)  for  the 
construction  of  a  high  school-house,  a  school-house  in  the  southeastern 
ixrrt  of  the  town,  a  school-house  in  the  sowthwestern  part  of  the  town, 
and  the  construction  of  a  school-house  at  the  Higidands,  so  called,  in 
said  town;  and  for  procuring  or  purchasing  land  for  said  school- 
houses.  That  the  town  issue  for  said  loan  two  hunched  (200)  bonds  of 
one  thousand  dollars  ($i,ooc)  each,  bearing  date  February  24.  A,  L). 
1896,  payable  in  twenty  (20)  years  fnni  said  date,  with  interest  pay- 
able semi-annually  at  the  rate  of  four  ]jer  cent,  per  annum;  said  bond:; 


EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY. 


195 


to  bear  on  their  face  the  words  "  Melrose  School  House  Loan,  1896," 
and  to  be  signed  by  the  treasurer  of  the  town,  and  countersigned  by  a 
majority  of  the  board  of  selectmen  thereof. 

It  was  also  at  the  same  nieetinw, 

Voted,  unanimously.  That  the  committee  to  be  elected  to  erect  the 
school  buildings  be  instructed  to  locate  the  high  school  building  on 
the  lot  known  as  the  "  Old  Burial  Ground,"  on  Main  Street;  and  that 
the  said  committee  (or  the  school  committee,  if  necessary  to  take  other- 
wise than  by  purchase)  be  authorized  to  purchase  the  land  adjoining 
said  burial  ground,  as  recommended  in  the  report  of  the  special  com- 
mittee appointed  [at  a  Town  Meeting  held  November  18,  1895,  con- 
sisting of  John  O.  Norris,  John  Dike  and  William  D.  Stewart  of 
the  School  Committee,  and  Rufus  S.  CaqDenter,  B.  Marvin  Fernald, 


FRANKLIN  SCHOOL,  COR.  MAIN  AND  FRANKLIN  STRKKTS. 

Oliver  A.  Roberts,  Charles  H.  Adams,  Charles  H.  Lang,  Jr.,  Louis  E. 
Lovejoy,  Rev.  Francis  J.  Glynn,  Curtis  C.  Goss,  and^George  R.  Jones,] 
to  consider  the  matter  of  taking  such  land  ;  and  that  the  town  treasurer 
be  authorized  to  borrow  a  sum  not  exceeding  ten  thousand  dollars 
($10,000)  for  the  purpose  of  paying  for  the  same. 

At  a  meetin<4-  held  March  26,  1896,  it  was  voted: 

Whereas,  at  the  town  meeting  held  February  24,  1896,  it  was  voted 
to  issue  two  hundred  (200)  bonds  of  one  thousand  dollars  (>iooo)  each, 
said  bonds  bearing  on  their  face,  "  Melrose  School  House  Loan,  i8g6," 
dated  February  24,  1896,  and  payable  in  twenty  (20)  years  from  said 
date,  a  sinking  fund  shall  be,  and  it  is  hereby  established;  and  there 
shall  be  contributed  thereto,  from  year  to  year,  such  an  amount,  raised 


196 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


annually  by  taxation  as  shall,  with  the  other  sums  payable  into  the 
sinking  fund,  be  sufficient  with  its  accumulations  to  pay  said  bonds  at 
maturity. 

This  fund  was  immediately  established  by  voting  at  this 
same  meeting,  that  $5,000  of  the  sums  received  as  premiums  on 
the  sale  of  these  bonds  as  issued,  should  be  applied  to  this 
"School  House  Loan  Sinking  Fund."  Various  amounts  have 
since  been  added,  and  it  now,  January  31,  1902,  amounts  to 
$18,545.03,  leaving  the  net  school-house  debt  $181,454,97. 
The  $200,000  bonds  mature  February  24,  1916. 


WASHINGTON  SCHOOL,  COR.   LEBANON  AND    LYNDK,  STREETS. 

It  was  voted,  also,  that  $100,000  should  be  applied  to  build- 
ing the  three  Grammar  Schools  specified,  and  $100,000  for  the 
High  School  building. 

The  committee  elected  at  the  Town  Meeting  held  March  9, 
1896,  to  carry  out  these  various  votes  for  building  these  new 
school-houses  was  as  follows:  Royal  P.  Barry,  John  Larrabee, 
Decius  Beebe,  John  C.  Maker,  Levi  S.  Gould,  Moses  S.  Page, 
Francis  W.  Hunt,  Frank  L.  Washburn  and  Clinton  White;  the 
chairman  of  the  School  Committee,  Oliver  A.  Roberts,  and 
Superintendent  of  Schools,  Benjamin  V.  Robinson,  being  mem- 


EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY. 


197 


bers  ex  officio.  This  committee  was  autliorized  to  purchase 
the  land,  select  plans  and  specifications,  and  su))erintend  these 
buildings  in  the  process  of  construction. 

The  result  has  been  that  four  \-erv  handsome  school  build- 
ings have  been  added  to  our  public  property;  and  these  addi- 
tional facilities  will  furnish  school  accommodations  for  many 
years  to  come;  thus  relieving  the  over-crowded  condition  of 
the  schools  as  they  existed  before  these  new  buildings  were 
built. 

At  a  Town  Meeting  held  November  6,  1896,  an  additional 
sum  of  S6,000  was  voted  for  furnishing  halls  and  grading  the 


LINCOLN    SCIUJOL,   WYOMING    AVKNUE. 

grounds  around  these  new  school-houses;  which  made  a  total 
appropriation  during  the  year  of  S2 16,000  for  school  building 
purposes.  August  I,  i8g8,  an  additional  aj)i)ro[iriation  of 
$3,000  was  made  for  the  purpose  of  grading  and  imi)r<ning  the 
grounds  aiouiid  tlu'  High  School  building. 

The  three  Grammar  .School  buildings  are  of  brick,  each  hav- 
ing eight  rooms,  and  are  furnished  with  all  the  modern  im- 
provements in  school  furniture  and  appliances. 

The  High  .School  building,  situated  in  the  centre  of  what 
was  formerly  the  "Old  l^urial  (iround,"  on  Main  Street,  is  one 
of  the  finest  school  buildings  to  be  found  in  New  England.     It 


198  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

is  three  stories  high  above  the  basement,  and  is  built  of  Ger- 
mantown  brick  and  Braintree  granite.  It  has  fifteen  school 
rooms,  a  handsome  main  hall  in  the  upper  story,  with  a  lecture 
room  adjoining,  so  arranged  as  to  be  connected  and  thrown 
into  one  room.  There  are  recitation  rooms,  a  reading  room, 
a  library,  a  physical  work  and  store  room,  a  chemical  labora- 
tory, business  room,  cloak  rooms,  play  rooms,  toilet  rooms, 
etc.;  in  short,  it  possesses  every  conceivable  appliance  and 
device  known  to  modern  scholarship,  for  the  successful  teach- 
ing of  our  young  men  and  maidens.  It  was  dedicated  Septem- 
ber 17,  1898,  with  appropriate  exercises.  Addresses  were  made 
by  Royal  P.  Barry,  chairman  of  the  building  committee,  Oliver 
A.  Roberts,  chairman  of  the  School  Committee  and  Sidney  H. 
Buttrick,  chairman  of  the  Selectmen  ;  dedicatory  prayer  by 
the  Rev.  Edwin  C.  Bolles,  D.  D.,  and  the  following  hymn, 
written  by  Frank  D.  Thatcher,  was  sung  by  the  High  School 
Chorus. 

DEDICATION  HYMN. 
Esfe  Perpetiia. 

Fiuished  is  the  workmau's  labor, 

Strong  and  firm  the  walls  now  rise, 
May  onr  children's  children  greet  them, 

And  this  prayer  ascend  the  skies  : 
;  Estc  perpetua.     Amen. 

Earnest  now  and  earnest  ever, 
Let  this  prayer  ascend  the  skies  : 
Este  perpclua.     Avicn. 

May  these  doors  stand  open  ever. 

May  our  youth  with  courage  strong 
Enter  here,  resolved  to  conquer, 

And  this  prayer  become  their  song  : 
Esic  perpetua.     Amen. 

Ent'ring  with  their  faith  unbounded, 
Hope  shall  light  their  steps  along. 
Este  perpetua.     Ameu. 

Under  tlie  auspices  of  the  High  School  Alumni  Association, 
of  which  Chark^s  C.  Barr\-  is  chairman,  John  Larrabee,  treas- 
urer, Albert  K.  Small,  secretar\',  and  Miss  Hattie  A.  Manley, 
assistant  secretary,  great  progress  has  been  made  in  the; 
decoration  of  the  High  .Scliool  building.  So  many  ha\e  been 
the  gifts  by  classes  and  friends,  over  sixt)'  in  number,  of  which 


EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY. 


199 


a  haiuisomc  catalo,i;"iie  has  been  printed  that  the\-  cannot  be 
enumerated  here.  They  consist  of  iDusts,  paintings,  portraits, 
pictures,  engravings,  statues,  bas-reliefs,  alto-relievos  and  books. 
In  the  arrangement  of  these  donations  already'  received,  and 
which  may  be  received  in  the  future,  il  is  intended  to  carry  out 
a  plan  of  decoration  which  shall  be  not  only  ornamental,  but 
useful  and  educational.  The  assembly  hall  is  to  be  devoted  to 
music  and  oratory;  the  librar\-  to  English  and  American  men 
of  letters;  the  first  corridor,  natural  scener>-;  north  end  of 
second    corridor,   .Aineiicaii    Iii->tor\-;    the    south    end    English 


MEI.KOSE  HIGH  SCHOOI,,   MAIX  STKICI-.T. 

history;  one  room  to  Christian  art,  one'  to  modern  art.  one  to 
Massachusetts  histor\'  and  literature,  and  onr  to  local  history; 
of  the  remaining  rooms,  one  I\gyi)tian.  one  (ireek,  one  Roman, 
one  French,  one  (u-rman,  and  one  Japanese  euihellishments. 

In  this  connection  must  be  mentioned  an  intert'sting  lAent 
which  look  place  at  the  annual  meeting  of  the  High  School 
Alumni,  June  25,  ig02.  This  was  the  1  resentation  of  a  \  er>- 
handsome  portrait  of  Mr.  Whitman,  pauited  b\-  a  former  grad- 
uate, Wallace  I^ryant,  long  resident  in  Melrose,  and  an  artist 
of  great  merit.  This  has  been  ap;  ro])riat(.'l\-  hung  in  the  main 
hall.  ( )n  this  occasion  numerous  other  gifts  were  added  to 
those  pre\i()usly  noted  for  the  adoinnu'nt  of  the  High  .School 
buildinij". 


200  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

On  the  i8th  of  June,  1901,  an  interesting  event  took  place 
in  this  building,  when  a  handsome  bronze  mural  tablet,  in 
memory  of  John  Crosby  Maker,  several  years  a  member  of  the 
School  Committee,  was  presented  by  his  brother  officers  of  the 
Twenty-Fourth  Regiment  Association,  through  the  medium  of 
the  LoA^al  Legion  of  Massachusetts,  with  appropriate  exercises: 
Singing  by  the  High  School  Glee  Club;  addresses  by  William 
D.  Stewart,  chairman  of  the  School  Committee,  His  Honor, 
Mayor  John  Larrabee,  His  Honor,  Mayor  Thomas  N.  Hart  of 
Boston,  General  Francis  A.  Osborn,  who  was  Colonel  of  the 
regiment  in  which  Captain  Maker  ser\'ed,  and  the  presentation 
address  b}'  Colonel  Francis  S.  Hesseltine.  These  services  took 
place  in  the  assembly  hall,  after  which  the  audience  gathered 
in  the  main  corridor,  and  after  prayer  by  Rev.  Augustus  E. 
Scoville,  of  the  First  l^aptist  Church,  the  tablet  was  unveiled 
b}^  Miss  Helen  Goodnow,  the  3'oung  grand-daughter  of  Captain 
Maker.     The  inscrij^tion  is  as  follows: 

To  the  Memory  of  John  C.  Maker,  Captain  of  Company  K,  24th 
Regt.  Mass.  Infantry.  December  20,  iS37-June  19,  1900.  A  faith- 
ful officer  in  the  war  which  preserved  the  Union  and  destroyed  slavery. 
His  companions  in  arms  of  the  Commandery  of  the  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts, of  the  Military  Order  of  the  Loyal  Legion  of  the  United 
States  ha\"e  here  placed  this  tablet.     Lex  A'/x//  Anna  Tnciitiir. 

Compare  this  beautiful  new  Inu'lding,  with  its  adornments, 
to  the  little  old  district  school-house,  unpainted  and  unadorned 
—  in  use  until  182S  —  which  was  situated  on  the  old  road,  now 
Lebanon  Street.  What  a  contrast!  Vet  we  ha\'e  with  us  still 
those  wdio  have  witnessed  both,  and  who  learned  their  A  B  C's 
in  the  structure  heretofore  described;  among  them  George  F. 
Boardman,  Charles  Boardman,  Mrs.  Mary  Lynde,  Mrs.  Joanna 
Church  and  Mrs.  Mary  Vinton;  and  the  late  George  Newhall, 
James  (i.  lunerson,  h'reeman  Upham,  Asa  Upham  and  Mrs. 
Sarah  L).  Howe  were  also  among  these  scholars. 

As  a  matter  of  contrast,  also,  as  indicating  the  grow'th  of  a 
half  centur\-,  it  is  pleasant  to  take  note  of  the  school  expenses 
of  the  "  North  Precinct,"  at  a  time  just  before  Melrose  was 
incorporated,  and  those  of  the  present  time.  The  Annual 
Report  of  flic  Financial  Concerns  of  the  Town  of  Maiden,  March  /, 
1844,  shows  a  total  pax'mcnt  for  the  schooling  of  the  "North 
District"    to    be    the    sum    of    5475.C9.     Total    amount     for    all 


EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY. 


201 


Maiden  schools,  $2,346.54.  The  total  eimount  appropriated  for 
the  same  district,  now  Melrose,  for  the  }'ear  ending  December 
31,  1902,  was  $77,089.'' 

Public  Kindergarten  Schools  were  established  in  1897  in  the 
following  manner:  At  a  Town  Meeting  held  March  5,  it  was 
\'oted: 

That  one  thousand  dollars  (5 1000)  of  the  amount  raised  or  appropri- 
ated for  school  purposes  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  School 
•Committee  to  establish  one  public  kindergarten  school. 

Upon  the  passage  of  this  vote  Hon.  William  E.  Barrett 
announced  his  intention  to  present  the  town  the  sum  of  $1,000, 
to  establish,  during  the  year,  another  public  kindergarten 
school,  whereupon  it  was 

Voted,  That  the  thanks  of  the  town  be  extended  the  Hon.  William 
E.  Barrett  for  his  very  generous  offer  to  contribute  into  the  town 
treasury  the  sum  of  $1,000  for  the  puipose  of  establishing  a  public 
kindergarten  school. 

This  was  passed  unanimously  b)'  a  rising  vote. 

*  The  value  of  our  fourteen  school  buildings  with  the  amount  of  land 
connected  with  each  as  given  in  the  "  vSchedule  of  City  Property"  for 
January  i,  1902,  nicluding  personal  property,  was  as  follows 


Converse,  21,017  square  feet  land, 

Franklin,  21,752  square  feet  land, 

D.  W.  Gooch,  27,815  square  feet  land, 

High,    116,385  square  feet  land, 

I/incolu,  27,604  square  feet  land, 

Mary  A.  Liverniore,   26,555  square  feet  land,    . 

Horace  Mann,   26,361  square  feet  land, 

Ripley,   14,748  square  feet  land, 

Sewall,   14,567  square  feet  land, 

Joseph  Warren,   18,572  square  feet  land,   . 

Washington,  30,794  square  feet  land, 

West  vSide  Kindergarten,    11,880  square  feet  land, 

Whittier,   15,000  square  feet  land, 

Winthrop,   26,544  square  feet  land,     . 

Total, 
This  leaves  out  the  old 
Green  Street  buildiiifj,  24,5(X)  square  feet  land, 
Chestnut  vStreet  building,  12,000  square  feet  land, 
Uphani  Street  l)uildin,<^,  11,400  square  feet  land, 

Total, 


$     6,229.00 

40,704.00 

32  048.00 

178,415.00 

40,607.00 

19,958.00 

26,003.00 

2,834.00 

I5-939-00 

17,141.00 

38,671.00 

4.325-00 

10,882.00 

13,429.00 

$446,825.00 

$  4,600.00 
2,900.00 
1,275.00 

I8.775.00 


202 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


The  twenty-four  years'  service  b}^  Robert  Gerry,  who  was 
school-master  in  the  early  years,  before  Melrose  was  incorpo- 
rated, have  been  surpassed  in  length  of  service,  in  later  years, 
by  Alonzo  G.  Whitman,  who  came  to  Melrose  as  Principal  of 
the  High  School,  in  November,  1874;  and  after  twenty-three 
years  of  efficient  work  in  that  position,  resigned,  and  was  given 
the  position  of  Principal  Emeritus,  where  he  has  charge  of  the 
departments  of  mathematics  and  science.  When  Mr.  Whitman 
began  his  work  the  school  numbered  sixty-nine  scholars,  two 
teachers  besides  himself,  and  one  course  of  study.  When  he 
resigned  there  were  two  hundred  and  twenty-nine  scholars, 
eight  teachers,  and  five  courses  of  study.  Concerning  his  work 
during  this  long  period,  the  report  of  the  School  Committee 
for  1897  says: 

The  love  and  resJDect  of  hundreds  of  young  ladies  and  gentlemen  in 
and  around  Melrose  who  received  their  instruction  under  Mr.  Whit- 
man's guidance,  and  who  are  now  occupying  responsible  and  honorable 
positions,  is  the  best  evidence  of  his  success  as  a  teacher,  and  there  is 
a  vmiversal  feeling  that  the  town  is  fortunate  in  being  able  to  retain 
the  services  of  Mr.  Whitman  as  an  instructor. 

SCHOOL  COMMITTEES. 


1850. 
Henry  A.  Norris. 
Caleb  Howard. 
Elbridge  Green. 

1851. 
Erastus  O.  Phinney,  M.  D. 
Rev.  Josiah  W.  Talbot. 
Rev.  Wilson  R.  Parsons. 

1852. 
Rev.  Wilson  R.  Parsons. 
Erastus  O.  Phinney,  M.  D. 
George  E.  White. 

1853. 
Daniel  W.  Gooch. 
George  P.  Burnhani. 
John  Shelton. 

1854. 
Elbridge  Green. 
Erastus  O.  Phinney,  M.  D. 
Charles  H.  Sinionds. 


TOWN. 

1855. 
Erastus  O.  Phinney,  M.  D. 
Rev.  Alexander  J.  Sessions. 
Rev.  J.  A.  Coolidge. 

1856. 
Rev.  Alexander  J.  vSessions. 
Walter  Littlefield. 
Caleb  Howard. 

1857. 
Rev.  Alexander  J.  Sessions. 
Rev.  William  H.  Munroe. 
Rev.  Joseph  S.  Dennis. 

1858. 
Moses  Parker,  M.  D. 
Rev.  William  H.  Munroe. 
George  N.  Noyes. 

1859. 
Erastus  O.  Phinney,  M.  D. 
Rev.  William  H.  Munroe. 
Rev.  James  Cooper. 


EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY. 


203 


i:60. 

Erastus  O.  Phiuney,  M.  D. 
Aaron  Green. 
Elbridge  Gardner. 

1861, 
Erastus  O.  Phiuney,  M.  D. 
Luther  Robinson. 
Charles  H.  Isburgh. 

1862. 
Luther  Robinson. 
Charles  H.  Isburgh. 
Henry  E.  Trowbridge. 

1863. 
Charles  H.  Isburgh. 
George  A.  Mansfield. 

1864. 
Joseph  B.  San  ford. 
Rev.  John  B.  Richmond. 
Thomas  \V.  .Chadbourne. 

1865. 
Hon.  Samuel  E.  Sewall. 
Thomas  W.  Chadbourne. 
Rev.  John  B.  Richmond. 
George  N.  Noyes. 
George  A.  Mansfield. 
George  Emerson,  2d. 

1866. 
Charles  H.  Isburgh. 
Thomas  W.  Chadbourne. 
George  N.  Noyes. 
George  Emerson,  2d. 
George  A.  Mansfield. 

1867. 
Charles  H.  Isburgh. 
Thomas  W.  Chadbourne. 
Moses  Parker,  M.  D. 
Rev.  Nathan  P.  Selee. 

1868. 
Rev.  William  S.  Barnes. 
Nelson  Cochran. 
Gilbert  Nash. 

1869. 
Charles  H.  Isburgh. 
William  H.  Allen. 
Nelson  Cochran. 

1870. 
Charles  H.  Isburgh. 
William  H.  Allen. 
Francis  P.  Woodbury. 


1871. 
Nathan  P.  Selee. 
Francis  P.  Woodbur)^ 
Nelson  Cochran. 

1872. 

Francis  P.  Woodbury. 
Nelson  Cochran. 
Nathan  P.  Selee. 

1878. 
Francis  P.  Woodbury. 
Nelson  Cochran. 
Hon.  Daniel  W.  Gooch. 

1874. 
John  O.  Norris. 
Hon.  Daniel  W.  Gooch. 
J.  Heber  Smith,  M.  D. 
Miss  Phoebe  A.  Norris. 
Mrs.  Nathan  P.  Selee. 
Mrs.  Samuel  E.  Sewall. 

1875. 
Samuel  Adams  Drake. 
John  O.  Norris. 
Hon.  Daniel  W.  Gooch. 
Miss  Phoebe  A.  Norris. 
Mrs.  James  C.  Currier. 
Mrs.  Alouzo  V.  Lynde. 

1876. 
George  F.  Stone. 
Mrs.  Alonzo  V.  Lynde. 
Maj.  W.  Irving  Ellis. 
Mrs.  James  C.  Currier. 
Alonzo  S.  Ranlett. 
Miss  Phoebe  A.  Norris. 

1877. 
Thomas  B.  Peck. 
Lafayette  Burr. 
Moses  S.  Page. 
Miss  Phoebe  h.  Norris. 
Mrs.  Maria  W.  Currier. 
Mrs.  Ann  M.  Kunhartlt. 

1878. 
Royal  P.  Barry. 
Lafayette  Burr. 
Moses  S.  Page. 
Miss  Phoebe  .\.  Norris. 
Mrs.  Ann  M.  Kunhardt. 
Everett  W.  Burdett. 


*204 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


1879. 
Royal  P.  Barry. 
Rev.  Clifton  Fletcher. 
Moses  S.  Page. 
Miss  Phoebe  A.  Norris. 
Mrs.  Ann  M.  Kunhardt. 
Mrs.  Marietta  M.  W.  Seaver. 

1880. 
Rev.  Clifton  Fletcher. 
Louis  E.  K.  Robson. 
Julius  S.  Clark,  M.  D. 
Mrs.  Marietta  M.  W.  Seaver. 
Mrs.  Ann  M.  Kunhardt. 
Mrs.  Benjamin  F.  Bradbury. 

1881. 
Rev.  Clifton  Fletcher. 
Levi  W.  Gilniau. 
Julius  S.  Clark,  M.  D. 
Mrs.  Ann  M.  Kunhardt. 
Mrs.  Sarah  W.  Bradbury. 
Mrs.  Arethusa  K.  Miller. 

1882. 
Rev.  Clifton  Fletcher. 
Levi  W.  Oilman. 
Julius  S.  Clark,  M.  D. 
Mrs.  Martha  A.  Adams. 
Mrs.  Sarah  W.  Bradbury. 
Mrs.  Arethusa  K.  Miller. 

1883. 
Rev.  Clifton  Fletcher. 
Julius  S.  Clark,  M.  D. 
Mrs.  Martha  A.  Adams. 
Mrs.  Sarah  W.  Bradbury. 
Mrs.  Arethusa  K.  Miller. 
Thomas  W.  Ripley. 

1884. 
Julius  S.  Clark,  M.  D. 
Rev.  Clifton  Fletcher. 
Mrs.  Martha  A.  Adams. 
Mrs.  Sarah  W.  Bradbury. 
Mrs.  Arethusa  K.  Miller. 
Thomas  W.  Ripley. 

1885. 
Rev.  Clifton  Fletcher. 
Mrs.  Martha  A.  Adams. 
Mrs.  Sarah  W.  Bradbury. 
Mrs.  Arethusa  K.  Miller. 
Thomas  W.  Ripley. 
S.  Robertson  Winchell. 


1886. 
Thomas  W.  Ripley. 
Mrs.  Sarah  W.  Bradbury. 
Mrs.  Arethusa  K.  Miller. 
S.  Robertson  Winchell. 
Hon.  Charles  F.  Loriug. 
Mrs.  Addie  B.  P.  Waterhouse. 

1887. 
John  O.  Norris. 
Mrs.  Sarah  W.  Bradbury. 
Mrs.  Arethusa  K.  Miller. 
S.  Robertson  Winchell. 
Hon.  Charles  F.  Loring. 
Mrs.  Addie  B.  P.  Waterhouse. 

1888. 
John  O.  Norris. 
Mrs.  Sarah  W.  Bradbury. 
John  C.  Maker. 
Mrs.  Arethusa  K.  Miller. 
Hon.  Charles  F.  Loring. 
Mrs.  Addie  B.  P.  Waterhouse. 


John  O.  Norris. 

Mrs.  Sarah  W.  Bradbury. 

John  C.  Maker. 

Mrs.  Arethusa  K.  Miller. 

Hon.  Charles  F.  Loriug. 

Mrs.  Addie  B.  P.  Waterhouse. 

1S90. 
John  O.  Norris. 
Mrs.  Sarah  W.  Bradbury. 
John  C.  Maker. 
Mrs.  Arethusa  K.  Miller. 
Hon.  Charles  F.  Loriug. 
Mrs.  Addie  B.  P.  Waterhouse. 

1891. 
John  O.  Norris. 
Mrs.  Sarah  W.  Bradbury. 
John  C.  Maker. 
Mrs.  Arethusa  K.  Miller. 
Hon.  Charles  F.  Loring. 
Mrs.  Addie  B.  P.  Waterhouse. 

1892. 
John  O.  Norris. 
John  C.  Maker. 
Mrs.  Arethusa  K.  Miller. 
William  D.  Stewart. 
Mrs.  George  F".  McDonald. 
Mrs.  Bessie  B.  Dearborn. 


EDUCATIONAL  HISTORY. 


205 


1893. 
John  O.  Norris. 
Mrs.  Bessie  B.  Dearborn. 
John  C.  Maker. 
Mrs.  Arethusa  K.  Miller. 
William  D.  Stewart. 
Mrs.  Ella  F.  McDonald. 

1894. 
John  O.  Norris. 
Mrs.  Bessie  B.  Dearborn. 
William  D.  Stewart. 
Mrs.  Ella  F.  McDonald. 
John  Dike,  M.  D. 
Mrs.  Susan  F.  Flanders. 

1895. 
John  O.  Norris. 
Mrs.  Bessie  B.  Dearborn. 
William  D.  Stewart. 
Mrs.  Mabel  F.  Valentine. 
John  Dike,  M.  D. 
Mrs.  Susan  F.  Flanders. 

189(). 
Oliver  A.  Roberts. 
Mrs.  Bessie  B.  Dearborn. 
William  D.  Stewart. 
Mrs.  Mabel  F.  Valentine. 
John  Dike,  M.  D. 
Mrs.  Susan  F.  Flanders. 

1897. 
Oliver  A.  Roberts. 
Mrs.  Bessie  B.  Dearborn. 
William  D.  Stewart. 
Mrs.  Mabel  F.  Valentine. 
Mrs.  Susan  F.  Flanders. 
John  C.  Maker. 


1898. 
Oliver  A.  Roberts. 
Mrs.  Bessie  B.  Dearborn. 
Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Day. 
Mrs.  Susan  F.  Flanders. 
John  C.  Maker. 
Rev.  George  N.  Howard. 

1899. 
Arthur  F.  Amadou,  M.  D. 
Mrs.  Bessie  B.  Dearborn. 
Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Day. 
Mrs.  Susan  F".  Flanders. 
John  C.  Maker. 
Rev.  Geori^e  N.  Howard. 

CITY. 

1900. 
Three  Year.s. 
Arthur  F.  Aniadon,  M.  D. 
Mrs,  Sarah  F.  Flanders. 
John  C.  Maker. 

Two  Years. 
D.  Eugene  Curtis. 
Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Day. 
William  D.  vStewart. 
One  Year. 
Mrs.  Bessie  B.  Dearborn. 
Edward  B.  Marsh. 
Fred  L-  Wood. 

1901. 
Three  Years. 
Mrs.  Bessie  B.  Dearborn. 
Edward  B.  Marsh. 
Fred  L.  Wood. 

1902. 
Three  Years. 
Don  E.  Curtis. 
Mrs.  Sarah  A.  Day. 
William  D.  Stewart. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

MILITARY    HISTORY. 

IN  THE  various  French  and  Indian  wars  that  took  place 
previous  to  the  American  Revolution,  there  were  many 
Maiden  men.  It  is  next  to  impossible  to  decide  just  who 
belonged  to  North  Maiden,  and  who  to  Maiden,  as  they  were 
all  credited  to  the  quotas  of  Maiden  proper.  But  as  there 
were  many  soldiers  who  bore  the  names  of  the  original  families 
living  in  North  Maiden,  Green,  Lynde,  Sprague,  Upham, 
How^ard,  Barrett,  Vinton,  and  others  of  later  generations,  there 
is  no  doubt,  indeed  it  is  very  probable,  that  North  Maiden  was 
represented  in  nearly  all,  if  not  all  of  them;  not  only  as 
privates  but  officers.  Se\'eral  of  the  L\'ndes  and  Barretts 
bore  commissions  as  captains,  majors,  lieutenants,  etc.,  and 
such  was  the  case  with  some  other  names.  Artemas  Barrett 
evident!}'  had  made  quite  a  study  of  the  part  taken  in  the 
military  by  our  citizens,  and  he  left  a  memorandum  which  is 
given  here,  in  which  there  are  a  few  details  concerning  these 
wars  and  the  part  taken  in  them  b\-  Maklen  men: 

In  King  Philip's  War.  1675,  Maklen  had  twenty-nine  men.  Seven 
who  were  in  Capt.  Samuel  Mosely's  Company  who  were  in  the  battle 
known  as  the  Narraganset  fight.  Maiden  troops  under  Capt.  William 
Green  marched  on  an  expedition  against  the  Indians  in  1695,  in  what 
is  known  as  King  William's  War.  In  the  Siege  of  Louisburg,  in  1745, 
INIalden  bore  a  conspicuous  part ;  nine  of  her  young  men  there  laid 
down  their  lives.  In  1758,  the  enrolled  militia  of  Maiden  was  134  men 
under  command  of  Capt.  lohn  Dexter,  at  that  time.  In  Dr.  Eben"" 
Morrow's  Company  of  Medford,  Lieut.  Samuel  Purditt  and  Darius 
Green  with  thirt3--one  non-commissioned  officers  and  privates  of 
Maiden  joined  the  forces  of  General  x\bercrombie  at  Ticonderoga ; 
of  these  five  Maiden  men  lost  their  lives.  In  1776  the  enrolled  militia 
of  Maiden  was  300. 

It  would  seem  from  the  following,  copietl  from  the  Jldssa- 
cliiisctts  Archives,  \o\.  68,  page  i  12,  that  some  of  the  drafted  or 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  207 

impressed  men,  were  not  anxious  to  take  part  in  these  troub- 
lous Indian  war-times;  or,  at  least,  were  in  no  hurry  in  report- 
ing for  dut)';   therefore  the  State  had  to  act  in  the  matter: 

2\>  the  Constables  of  Ma u /den 

These  require  yo"  in  his  maj^ys  name  forthwith  to  sumon  require 
&:  secure  John  Linde  Jn^  Cole  &  James  welsh  so  as  they  may  person- 
ally Appeare  before  the  Council  sitting  in  Boston  on  the  ii^'^  Jnstant 
at  one  of  the  clocke  then  &  there  to  Answer  theire  neglect  of  Duty  in 
not  appearing  at  the  Randevous  at  Dedham  on  the  5'^  Jiist  thereby 
much  disappointing  the  service  of  the  Country  yo"  are  also  in  like 
manner  to  sumon  &  require  some  one  or  more  of  the  Comittee  of 
militia  of  the  Toune  then  &  there  to  Appeare  that  Jmpressed  them  to 
make  it  out  that  they  were  duely  Jmpressed  making  your  returne  at  or 
before  the  time  hereof  not  to  faele  at  your  perrill  —  Dated  in  Boston 
the  7th  of  January  1675. 

By  order  of  the  Council  Edwd  Rawson  Secre'v. 

John  Lyndc  was  a  North  Maiden  man,  and  li\ed  in  the 
house  which  stood  on  Main  Street,  where  now  stands  the 
homestead  of  Henry  Lynde,  a  direct  descendant. 

An  order  concerning  North  Maiden  men  during  these  dark 
days,  runs  as  follows:  it  was  directed  to  "Capt.  John  Sprague 
of  Mauldon." 

In  Pursuance  of  an  Order  from  the  mag""  genii  to  me  directed, 
Bearing  date  y^  i8th  of  this  Instant  June:  these  are  in  theire  Majies 
Names  to  Requier  3-ou  to  detach  out  of  yor  Companie  To  Able  Soldiers 
well  appointed  with  arms  and  Amunition  for  their  Majies  Service  to 
defend  the  ffrunteer  Townes  and  prosecute  y^  Common  Enemy.  You 
are  to  Cause  them  to  Randevouse  at  wooburne,  by  the  meeting  house, 
on  Tusday  the  Thirtyeth  of  this  Instant,  at  one  of  the  Clock  in  the 
Afternune,  their  to  Receive  farther  orders.  Hereof  you  may  not  fail 
at  yor  Peril.  Dated  In  Charles  Towne  y^  19"!  of  June  1691,  and  in  the 
Third  yeare  of  their  Majies  reigne 

No.  62.  Jonx  Phillips,  Serjt  Major. 

To  the  Committee  of  Militia  in  Ma  11 1  Jon. 

This  order  has  the  following  endorsement  on  its  back:  "  Jdhn 
green,  James  whitehead  went  to  the  place  of  raiidaz\oues, 
Jul\'  17,  1691,"  se\-enteen  days  after  the  time  appointed.  This 
was  the  Capt.  Sprague  that  li\ed  in  the  old  homestead  on  the 
southerly  side  of  Barrett  Mount,  on  Maple  Strei't;  and  Green 
was  probably  the  grandson  and  lived  in  the  old  homestead  of 
his  grandfather,  Thomas  (ireen,  at  the  Highlands,  then  Maiden 
North  ICiul. 


208 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


As  to  the  American  Revolution:  Maiden,  although  includ- 
ing what  is  now  Everett  and  Melrose,  was  not  a  large  town; 
but  it  was  a  very  patriotic  town,  and  sent  forth  not  only  her 
sons,  but  several  spirited  manifestoes,  before  and  during  the 
war.  Eloquent,  forcible  and  full  of  loyalty  to  our  country 
were  her  various  papers.  First,  in  1773,  a  letter  "To  the 
Respectable  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Boston,"  wherein  they 
informed  them  of  the  appointment  of  a  Committee  of  Corres- 
pondence to  act  in  conference  with  theirs.  Second,  a  series  of 
instructions  to  their  Representative  in  the  Legislature,  Captain 
Ebenezer  Harnden,  dated  September  23,  1874,  the  last  sentence 
of  which  was: 

The  people  in  the  province  are  a  free  and  a  brave  people ;  and  we 
are  determined  in  the  strength  of  our  God,  that  we  will,  in  spite  of 
open  force  and  private  treachery,  live  and  die  as  becomes  the  descend- 
ants of  such  ancestors  as  ours,  who  sacrificed  their  all,  that  they  and 
their  posterity  might  be  free. 

Third,  another  to  his  successor,  Ezra  Sargent,  Esq.,  which  is 
so  full  of  patiiotic  fire  it  is  given  hrre  in  full;  these  instruc- 
tions were  written  by  Rev.  Peter  Thacher,  who  was  settled  in 
Maiden  in  1770,^  delivered  the  Fifth  of  March  Oration  in  1776,. 
was  a  delegate  from  Maiden  to  the  Massachusetts  Constitu- 
tional Convention  in  1780,  and  became  pastor  of  Brattle  Square 
Church,  Boston,  in  1785:- 

Iiistnictioiis   of  the   town    of  JSIahieii    to    their   Rcpi-eseiitative,    Fassed 
May  2jth,  lyyd  : 
Sir — A  resolution  of  the  late  Honorable  House  of  Representatives, 
calling  upon  the  several  towns  in  this  Colony  to  express  their  minds, 


^  This  paper  was  prepared  in  re- 
sponse to  a  resolution  of  the  Mas- 
sachusetts House  of  Representa- 
tives; and  by  it  the  little  town 
committed  itself  fearlessly  in  favor 
of  independence  first  of  all  the 
towns  of  the  province,  preceding 
the  action  of  Boston  l)y  three  days. 
Deloraine  P.  Corey,  Neiv  Engtand 
Magazine,  May,  1899,  p.  373. 

-  The  following  anecdote  con- 
nected with  his  ministry  in  Maiden 
was  told  by  Rev.  Alexander  W. 
McClure  at  the  Bi-Centennial  Cele- 


l)ration  of  Maiden,  in  1849:  "On 
one  occasion  he  called  in  the  after- 
noon upon  a  lady,  poor  but  proud. 
The  good  lady  met  him  at  the  door, 
her  covmtenance  all  wreathed  in 
smiles.  She  was  very  sorry  that 
her  pastor  had  not  come  to  dine, 
she  had  so  nice  a  turkey,  and  she 
knew  he  loved  turkey  so  much. 
'  No  doubt  of  it,  no  doubt  of  it,, 
madam  ;'  was  the  re])ly  of  the 
reverend  man.  '  I  perceive  you 
have  had  turkey  for  dinner,  and 
here  is  a  feather  of  it  on  your  ker- 
chief.'    Awful  to  relate,  that  feath- 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  209 

with  respect  to  the  important  question  of  American  Independence, 
is  the  occasion  of  our  now  instructing  you. 

The  time  was,  Sir,  when  we  loved  the  King  and  the  People  of  Great 
Britain,  with   an  affection  truly  filial ;  we  felt  ourselves  interested  in 
their  glory,  we  shared  in  their  joys  and  sorrows,  we  cheerfully  poured 
the  fruit  of  all  our  labors  into  the  lap  of  our  Mother  Country,  and 
without  reluctance,  expended  our  blood  and  our  treasure  in  her  cause. 
These  were  our  sentiments  towards  Great  Britain  :  while  she  continued 
to  act  the  part  of  a  parent  State,  we  felt  ourselves  happy  in  our  con- 
nection with  her,  nor  wished  it  to  be  dissolved.     But  our  sentiments 
are  altered.     It  is  now  the  ardent  wish  of  ourselves,  that  America  may 
become  Free  and  Independent  States.     A  sense  of   unprovoked 
injuries  will  arouse  the  resentment  of  the  most  peaceful;  such  injuries 
these  Colonies  have  received  from  Britain.     Unjustifiable  claims  have 
been  made  by  the  King  and  his  minions,  to  tax  us  without  our  con- 
sent.    These  colonies  have  been  prosecuted  in  a  manner  cruel  and  un- 
just to  the  highest  degree,  the  frantic  policy  of  Administration  hath 
induced  them  to  send  Fleets  and  Armies  to  America,  that  by  depriv- 
ing us  of  our  trade,  and  cutting  the  throats  of  our  brethren,  they  might 
awe  us  into  submission,  and  erect  a  system  of  despotism  which  should 
so  far  enlarge  the  infiuence  of  the  Crown,  as  to  enable  it  to  rivet  their 
shackles  upon  the  people  of  Great  Britain.     This  was  brought  to  a 
crisis  upon  the  ever  memorable  nineteenth  of  April ;  we  remember  the 
fatal   day;    the   expiring  groans   of  our   murdered   countrymen    yet 
vibrate  on  our  ears ! !    We  now  behold  the  flames  of  their  peaceful 
dwellings  ascending  to  heaven  ;  we  hear  their  blood  crying  to  us  from 
the  ground.  Vengeance!  and  charging  us,  as  we  value  the  peace  of 
their  manes,  to  have  no  further  connection  with  a  King,  who  can  un- 
feelingly hear  of  the  slaughter  of  his  subjects  and  composedly  sleep 
with  their  blood  upon  his  soul.     The  manner  in  which  the  \A'ar  has 
been  prosecuted  has  confirmed  us  in  these  sentiments;    Piracy  and 
Murder,  robbery  and  breach  of  faith,  have  been  conspicuous  in  the 
conduct  of  the  King's  Troops;  defenceless  Towns  have  been  attacked 
and  destroyed,— the  ruins  of  Charlestown,  which  are  daily  in  our  view, 
daily  remind  us  of  this.     The  cries  of  the  Widow  and  the  Oiphan  de- 
mand our  attention  ;  they  demand  that  the  hand  of  pity  should  wipe 
the  tears  from  their  eyes;  and  that  the  sword  of  their  Country  should 

er  was  a  respectable  dab  of   mush  and   thai  priiiiit  ve  dish   known  as 

and   molasses!     Oftjn  after  his  re-  'hasty  pudding'  and  so  scientific- 

moval  to  the  Brattle  vSquare  Church,  ally  described  by  the  famous  Count 

did  that  eloquent  and   popular  di-  Rumford,     was      long     known      iu 

vine  'keep  the  table  in  a  roar'  at  fashionable    parlance    as     'Maiden 

the  numerous  dining  parties  of  his  turkey.'"     Bi-Ceiitciinial   book    of 

day,  where  he  was  ever  a  welcome  Maiden,  p.  90. 
guest,  by  rehearsing  this  incident  ; 


210  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

avenge  their  own  and  our  rights,  and  bring  to  condign  punishment  the 
elevated  villains  who  have  trampled  upon  the  sacred  rights  of  men, 
and  affronted  the  majesty  of  the  people. 

We  hoped  in  vain.  They  have  lost  their  love  to  Freedom,  they  have 
lost  their  spirit  of  just  resentment.  We  therefore  renounce  with  dis- 
dain our  connection  with  the  kingdom  of  Slaves ;  we  bid  a  final  adieu 
to  Britain.  Could  an  accommodation  be  now  effected,  we  have  reason 
to  think  that  it  would  be  fatal  to  the  liberties  of  America,  —  we  should 
soon  catch  the  contagion  of  venality  and  dissipation,  which  has  sub- 
jected Britain  to  lawless  domination :  Were  we  placed  in  the  situation 
we  were  in,  in  the  year  1773;  were  the  powers  of  appointing  to  office, 
and  commanding  the  Militia,  in  the  hands  of  Governors,  our  arts, 
trade,  and  manufactures  would  be  cramped ;  nay,  more  than  this,  the 
life  of  every  man  who  has  been  active  in  the  cause  of  his  Country 
would  be  endangered.  For  these  reasons,  as  well  as  many  others 
which  might  be  produced,  we  are  confirmed  in  the  opinion,  that  the 
present  age  will  be  deficient  in  their  duty  to  God,  their  posterity,  and 
themselves,  if  they  do  not  establish  an  American  Republic.  This  is 
the  only  form  of  government  which  we  wish  to  see  established ;  for  we 
can  never  willingly  be  subject  to  any  other  King,  than  He,  who  being 
possessed  of  infinite  wisdom,  goodness,  and  rectitude,  is  alone  fit  to 
possess  unlimited  power. 

We  have  freely  spoken  our  sentiments  upon  this  important  subject; 
but  we  mean  not  to  dictate.  We  have  unbounded  confidence  in  the 
wisdom  and  uprightness  of  the  Continental  Congress ;  with  pleasure 
we  recollect  that  this  affair  is  under  their  direction :  —  and  we  now 
instruct  you.  Sir,  to  give  them  the  strongest  assurance,  that  if  they 
should  declare  America  to  be  a  Free  and  Independent  Repviblic,  your 
constituents  will  support  and  defend  the  measure  to  the  Last  Drop  of 
THEIR  Blood  and  the  Last  Farthing  of  their  Treasure. 

So  strong,  forcible,  and  eloquent  was  this  address,  that  Chief 
Justice  Marshall  quoted  it  in  his  Life  of  Washington ;  and  it 
has  also  been  commended  by  other  historians. 

When  the  Lexington  alarm  was  sounded,  Maiden  was  pre- 
pared for  the  emergency.  A  messenger  arriving  at  Hill's 
Tavern,  then  standing  where  now  stands  City  Hall,  gave  the 
cry  "The  Regulars  are  out!"  which  alarm  spread  from  farm  to 
farm,  and  the  minute-men  belonging  to  Captain  Benjamin 
Blaney's  company 

gathered  on  the  little  green  before  the  tavern  and  awaited  orders  from 
their  colonel  at  Watertown.  Women  and  children  followed  by  their 
side  as  they  marched  away  towards  Menotomy,  now  Arlington,  where 
they  arrived  in  time  to  capture  a  bewildered  supply  train  of  the  enemy .-^ 

^  Corey,  in  A^ew  Englami  Magazine,  May,  1899,  p.  373. 


MILITARY  HISTORY. 


211 


The  roll  of  the  company  in  which  these  "Minute  Men  of 
Maiden "  served,  is  taken  from  the  Massachusetts  Archives: 
Revolutionary  Rolls,  xi.  209:  and  is  as  follows: 

A  Role  of  the  Company  of  the  Militea  that  went  to  Watertown  By 
order  of  the  Late  Col?  Gardner  upon  the  alarm  on  the  19  Day  of  april 
1775  and  from  there  to  Resist  the  Ministeral  troops  under  the  Com- 
mand of  Cap^.   Benja  Blaney. 

Benja  Blaney  Cap^. 
Nathan  Lyndes  Lieu'  Williaim  Wait  Second  Liu' 

Amos  Shute  Serjant  Nehemiah  Oaks  Serjant 

Jabez  Lyndes  Serjant 

Bernard  Green  Cor'. 
Nathan  Eaton  Cor\ 
\\'inslow  Sargeant  Drumer 


Micah  Wait  Cor'. 
Jacob  Parker  Cor>. 


John  Ramsdel 
Joseph  Lyndes  J" 
Ezra  Howard 
John  Vinton 
Jacob  Sargeant 
William  Sprague 
Benja  Lyndes 
John  Pratt 
Ebeni"  Payne 
John  Grover  ye  3 
John  Wat  J" 
David  Wait 
William  Dexter 
Jonathan  Gardner 
Stephen  Tufts 
Samuel  Wait 
Unite  Cox 
Benja  Grover 
Ebenr  Wait 
Joseph  Barrett  J» 
David  Howard 


Ezra  Sargeant 
Ezra  Hawkes 
James  Wade 
Robert  Burdit 
Gidion  Williams 
Jacob  Pratt 
Daniel  Chadwick 
Thomas  Wait  y«  3 
William  Upham 
Ezra  Upham 
Ezekiel  Jenkins  J" 
Joseph  Floyd 
William  Low 
Joseph  Hollowell 
John  Jenkins 
Francis  Phillips 
Bernard  Newhall 
Nathan  Parker 
Richard  Dexter 
Timothy  Tufts 
Samuel  Hollowell 


Daniel  Breeding 
Elnathan  Breeding 
Benja  Brown 
Peter  Brown 
Charles  Hill 
Phinheas  Sprague,  ]\ 
Edward  Newhall 
James  Green 
Silas  Sargeant 
Ezekiel  Jenkins 
John  Grover,  J" 
John  Gould 
Naler  Hatch 
Daniel  Waters 
Joseph  Jenkins 
Phinehas  Sprague 
David  Bucknam 
William  Gill 
John  Grover  y^  4 
Stephen  Pain  J" 
Benja  Sprague  J" 
Joseph  Lyndes 
Benja  Blaney  cptn.'^ 


*  They  were  paid  for  one  clay's 
service  at  the  followiu^'  rates  :  cap- 
tain, 4s.  4d.;  lieutenant,  3s.;  second 
lieutenant,  2s.  8d.;  sergeants,  is. 
8d.;  corporals,  is.  6d.;  drummer, 
IS.  6d.,  and  privates,  is.  4d.  The 
last  fourteen  names  were  allowed 
for  twenty  miles  travel,   "out  and 


home,"  and  the  others  for  thirty- 
four  miles.  The  total  amount  was 
£15  4s.,  for  which  the  Council  or- 
dered a  warrant  to  be  drawn,  Feb. 
7,  1777.  Captain  Blaney's  company 
was  the  fourth  in  the  first  regiment 
of  Middlesex  militia. 


212 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Some  years  ago,  Artemas  Barrett  made  a  search  of  the  Town 
and  State  records,  and,  by  the  aid  of  those  and  his  own  per- 
sonal knowledge,  completed  a  list  of  those  of  our  own  citizens,. 
who  were  in  this  company,  and  who  went  to  Lexington  on  that 
famous  19th  of  April.     They  are  as  follows: 

Sergeant  Jabez  Lynde,  Coiporal  Nathan  Eaton,  Phineas  Sprague, 

Joseph  Lynde,  John  Grover,  Jr.,  Phineas  Sprague,  Jr.,. 

Joseph  Lynde,  Jr.,  John  Grover,  3d,  Ezra  Upham, 

Joseph  Barrett,  Jr.,         Unite  Cox,  John  Vinton, 

John  Gould,  Benjamin  Lynde,  William  Upham, 

Ezra  Howard,  John  Pratt,  Benoni  Vinton. 

Here  are  found  all  of  the  oldest  names  of  the  settlers  in 
North  Maiden.  There  was  hardly  a  man  living  here  at  the 
time,  who  was  able  to  bear  arms,  who  did  not  become  a 
"  minute-man,"  when  the  alarm  was  sounded.  The  two  Spragues 
were  father  and  son;  the  father  living  on  West  Foster  Street, 
the  son  on  Porter  Street.  There  were  three  others  that  went 
from  our  present  territory;  the  three  brothers,  Thomas,  Tim- 
othy and  Ezra  Vinton,  who  lived  at  the  Highlands,  then  a 
part  of  Stoneham;  they  went  in  Captain  Samuel  Sprague's. 
company.^ 

The    following    additional    items     concerning    the    military 


5  Thomas,  Timothy  aud  Ezra 
Vinton  of  the  Vinton  neighbor- 
hood, now  Melrose  Highlands,  but 
then  a  part  of  Stoneham,  marched 
with  the  minute  men  of  the  latter 
town.  Some  of  the  North  End  men 
marched  with  the  minute-men  from 
Kettell's  Tavern,  while  others  took 
a  shorter  route  across  the  country 
to  the  Lexington  Road.  After  they 
had  left,  the  women  filled    saddle- 


who  lived  in  the  southeast  part  of 
the  town,  near  the  Chelsea  line, 
and  a  boy  named  Breeden,  who  was- 
probably  from  Chelsea,  near  Black 
Ann's  Corner.  The  latter  was 
about  eighteen  years  old,  and  was 
unarmed,  l)ut  he  said  he  would  get 
a  gun  if  they  would  let  him  go. 
"While  they  were  following  the 
troops  in  the  afternoon,  he  became 
so    daring    that    Phineas    Sprague, 


bags     with    food     and    despatched  one  of  the  minute-men,  called   at- 

Israel  Cook,  with  a  horse  belonging  tention  to  him   several  times   and 

to   Phineas    Sprague,    after    them.  remarked  that  he  would  be  killed. 

MeetingtheBritishon  their  retreat,  Observing  one  of  the  .soldiers  lag- 

his  horse  was  killed  ;  but  he  should-  ging,    he  borrowed  a  gun  and  fol- 

ered  the  bags  and  wandered  about  lowed  him.     When  the  others  came 

until  he  met  his  friends,  who  were  up  he  had  killed  the  soldier  and  was 

in  need  of  the  refreshments  which  eating  the   ration   which    his  dead 

he  carried.  enemy      had     provided.      Artemas 

Among  those  who  went  out  upon  Barrett,    in    the    Melrose   Journaly 

the  early  alarm  was  John  Ivdniunds,  April  17,  1875. 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  213 

history  of  the  North   Maiden  men  are  taken  from  Corey's  list 
of  "Soldiers  and  Sailors,"  in  his  History  of  Maiden: 

Barrett,  Joseph,  Jr.;  Lexington  alarm,  1775;  with  Captain  Benjamin 
Blaney,  Col.  Brooks's  regiment  of  guards  at  Cambridge,  Feb. -April. 
1778. 

Cox,  Unite;  Lexington  alarm,  1775;  sergeant  in  eight  months' 
•service  with  Captain  Naler  Hatch,  Lieut. -Col.  Bond,  1775. 

Eaton,  Nathan;  corporal  at  Lexington  alarm,  1775  \  ^"^  eight  months' 
service  with  Captain  Naler  Hatch,  Lieut.-Col.  Bond,  1775. 

Gould,  John;  Lexington  alarm,  1775;  with  Capt.  Benjamin  Blaney 
in  Point  Shirley  expedition,  June,  1776. 

Grover,  John ;  Lexington  alarm,  1775;  eight  months'  service  with 
Capt.  N.  Hatch,  Lieut.-Col.  Bond,  1775;  drafted  and  marched  for 
Horse  Neck,  [Conn.]  Sept.  26,  1776,  with  Capt.  John  Walton,  Col, 
Brooks;  with  Capt.  Joseph  Fuller,  Col.  BuUard,  in  service  "North- 
ward," Aug.-Nov.,  1777;  with  Capt.  Caleb  Brooks's  regiment  of 
guards  at  Cambridge,  Dec,  1777-April,  1778  ;  with  Capt.  Benj.  Edgell, 
Col.  Jacobs,  July  1778-Jan.  1779,  perhaps  in  Rhode  Island  service. 
John  Grover  also  appears  with  Capt.  B.  Blaney  in  Col.  Brooks's  regi- 
ment of  guards  at  Cambridge,  Feb.-April,  1778;  as  matrons  with 
Capt.  Donnell,  Col.  Crane,  July,  1778-Dec.,  1780,  and  perhaps  later, 
having  enlisted  for  the  war.  I  cannot  distinguish  between  the  two  who 
performed  the  above  service.  John  Grover  and  John  Grover,  Jr.,  have 
become  confounded;  and  perhaps  the  two  following  names  should 
have  a  part  of  this  record. 

Grover,  John  3rd;  Lexington  alarm,  1775. 

Grover,  John,  4th;  Lexington  alarm,  1775. 

Howard,  Ezra;  Lexington  alarm,  1775;  with  Capt.  Benj.  Blaney  in 
Point  Shirley  expedition,  June,  1776;  with  Capt.  Blaney  in  Col. 
Brooks's  regiment  of  guards  at  Cambridge,  Feb.-April,  1778. 

Lynde,  Benjamin;  Lexington  alarm,  1775;  with  Capt.  Benj.  Blaney 
in  Point  Shirley  expedition,  June,  1776;  with  Capt.  Blaney  in  Col. 
Brooks's  regiment  of  guards  at  Cambridge;  Feb.-April,  1778. 

Lynde,  Jabez;  sergeant  at  Lexington  alarm,  1775;  sergeant  with 
■Capt,  Benj.  Blaney  in  Point  Shirley  expedition,  June,  1776;  received 
^ix  pounds  bounty,  Dec.  9,  1776,  "Voted  by  the  Town  of  Maiden  for 
Providing  a  Reinforcement  for  the  american  Army." 

Lynde,  Joseph;  Lexington  alarm,  1775. 

Lynde,  Joseph  Jr.;  Lexington  alarm,  1775  ;  with  Capt.  Benj.  Blaney 
in  Point  Shirley  expedition,  June,  1776. 

Pratt,  John;  corporal  with  Capt.  Cadwallader  Ford, in  Col.  Brooks's 
regiment  of  guards  at  Cambridge,  Februarj- — April,  1778. 

Sprague,  Phineas,  and  Sprague,  Phineas,  Jr.;  both  father  and  son 
were  at  the  Lexington  alarm,   1775;   one  was  with   Capt.  Blaney  in 


214  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Point  Shirley  expedition,  June,  1776;  one  was  in  Rhode  Island  ser- 
vice with  Captain  Stephen  Dana,  Col.  Whitnej-,  I  cannot  separate 
their  service. 

Uphani,  Ezra;  Lexington  alarm,  1775;  joined  company  of  Capt. 
Caleb  Brooks,  in  Col.  Brooks's  regiment  of  guards  at  Cambridge,  No- 
vember 3,  1777. 

Upham,  William;  Lexington  alarm,  1775;  with  Capt.  Benj.  Blaney 
in  Point  Shirley  expedition,  June,  1776;  drafted  and  marched  for 
Horse  Neck,  with  Capt.  John  Walton,  Col.  Brooks,  September,  26, 
1776;  in  hospital,  October  31,  1776. 

Vinton,  Benoni ;  with  Capt.  Benj.  Blanej'  in  Point  Shirle}^  expedi- 
tion, June,  1776;  drafted  and  marched  for  Horse  Neck  with  Capt. 
John  Walton,  Col.  Brooks,  September,  26,  1776. 

Vinton,  John;  Lexington  alarm,  1775;  M'ith  Capt.  Benj.  Blaney,  in 
Point  Shirley  expedition,  June,  1776;  2nd  Lieut,  in  Col.  Samuel 
Thacher's  Middlesex  regiment  (militia),  July  29,  177S. 

In  May  another  company  was  raised  in  accordance  with  a 
vote  passed  "  In  Committee  of  Safety  May  3d,  1775  Cam- 
bridg^e,"  for  two  companies  to  be  formed  in  Chelsea  and  Mai- 
den "for  the  defence  of  the  Sea  Coast  of  said  Towns."  The 
Maiden  company  under  the  command  of  Capt.  Naler  Hatch, 
was  posted  at  Beacham's  Point,  watching  the  landing  places 
there  and  at  Penny  Ferry.  This  company  was  composed 
mostly  of  Maiden  men,  some  of  whom  were  from  the  North 
End.  The  roll  from  the  Rcvolutio7iary  Archives  at  the  State 
House  is  as  follows: 

A  return  of  Capt.  Nailor  Hatch's  Company,  in  the  Third  Regiment 
of  Foot,  in  the  Continental  Army,  commanded  by  Lieut.  Col.  Wp 
Bond: 

Cap*.   Nailer  Hatch  Maulden  Serg'.  Barnabas  Newhall  Maulden. 

Leu\  Nathan  Eaton     do  Serg'.  L^nite  Cox  do 

Ensign  John  Vezee  Boston  Corp'.  Edward  Thompson  Lynn 

Sergt.  Elijah  Caswell  Maulden  Corp'.  Charles  Hill  Maulden 

Sergt   Benj'^  Grover        do  Fifer  Naler  Hatch        do 

Drum  Oliver  Donnell  Lynn. 

Amos  Sargent  Maulden  Elisha  Frothingham  Reading 

Benj  Sweetser  Charlestown  Floyd  Pratt  Maulden 

Bela  Sweetser  do  George  Barrington         do 

David  Knower  Maulden  John  Grover  do 

Dudley  Jones  do  Joshua  Caswell  do 

Ebenezer  Eaton      do  Isaiah  Pain  do 

Ebenezer  Bearne  do  Joseph  Baldwin  do 

Joshua  Gill  Maulden  John  Graham  Maulden 


MILITARY  HISTORY. 


215 


Joel  \Miitnian  Maiiklcn 
Pomp  Magus  (negro)  Reading" 
Joseph  HoUoway  Maulden 
Moses  Woodman  Newbury 
John  Hatch         Maulden 
Nath'.   Buckman       do 
Nathan  Burditt        do 
Nathaniel  Peck  Boston 
George  Smith 
Obadiah  Jenkins  Maulden 
Prince  Hill  do 

Phineas  Sargent        do 
I'homas  Wheeler  Maulden 
Thomas  Hadley  Stoneham 


John  Sprague  Maulden 
James  Nichols     do 
Robert  Burditt  Maulden 
Robert  Campbell  Boston 
Stephen  Pain         Maulden 
Solomon  Sargent        do 
Samuel  HoUoway       do 
Samuel  Bishop  do 

Samuel  Burditt  do 

Samuel  Grover  do 

Solomon  How  do 

Silas  Sargent  do 

William  Underwood  Towns  End 
William  Sprague  Maulden. 


Some  of  these  Maiden  men  were  from  the  north  end  of  the 
town;  just  which  ones  cannot  now  be  stated.  Both  of  these 
companies,  commanded  by  Captains  Blaney  and  Hatch,  were 
stationed  at  Beacham's  Point,  on  the  Mystic,  during  the  Battle 
of  Bunker  Hill;  and  from  this  point  Rev,  Mr.  Thacher,  who 
wrote  the  foregoing  patriotic  instructions,  witnessed  the  battle, 
a  spirited  account  of  which  he  prepared  for  transmission  to 
England.  From  the  top  of  Wayte's  Mount,  many  watched  the 
progress  of  the  battle;  and  the  next  da\'  wountled  men  were 
brought  to  Dr.  Jonathan  Porter's  tavern  on  the  Salem  road. 

During  the  remaining  years  of  the  war,  there  were  various 
other  enlistments,  and  drafts  required  for  the  several  quotas 
called  for  from  Maiden.  The  record  of  those  that  went  from 
North  Maiden  has  been  given  as  fully  as  possible;  it  being- 
somewhat  difficult  to  separate  them  from  those  from  Maiden 
proper. 

The  following  enlistment  paper,  and  the  receipt  were  gi\'en 
by  one  of  the  Greens: 

1  the  subscriber  do  enlist  mj'self  into  the  service  of  the  U.  S.  of 
America,  to  continue  in  s<'  service  until  the  end  of  the  present  War 
with  Britain  unless  sooner  Regularly  discharged.  I  engage  to  be 
under  the  command  of  the  General  Officers  of  the  V .  S.  of  A.  which 


"  Coucerning  this  colored  soldier, 
Pomp  Magus,  Echoes  front  Mystic 
Side,  p.  37,  has  the  following: 
"  Very  old  peo})le  still  reiiieinber 
Pomp  Magus,  a  colored  tnau,  who. 


aid  of  the  ohl  lueii.  His  rifle  was 
not  loaded  at  the  time,  and  was  in 
the  form  of  a  pitch  fork  handle, 
which  he  levelled  over  the  wall, 
and  answered  all  purposes  to  poiut 


on   the   nineteenth   [of   April]  was      at   the   flying  men.     His   share   of 
working    near    by,    and    ran   to  the      the    stores   consisted    of   a    sum   of 


216  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

are  or  maj^  be  appointed  &  faithfully  to  observe  &  obey  all  such  orders 
as  from  time  to  time  shall  Receive  from  my  Officers  &  to  be  under 
such  Regulations  in  every  respect  as  are  or  may  be  provided  for  the 
Army  of  the  U.  S.  Daniel  Green  the  third. 

Dated  April  13111.  1781. 

Rec'd  of  Lieut  Nathan  Lynde  Capt  John  Dexter  Mr  Samuel 
Sprague  Mr  John  Harnden  Dea  John  Ramsdel  Mr  Nathan  Sprague 
Mr  Jonathan  Howard  Mr  Ebenr  Harnden  Mr  John  Kilter  Mr  Saml 
Burdett  and  others  Belonging  to  the  same  class  in  Money  and  Notes 
of  hand  to  the  value  of  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  Spanish  Milled 
Dollars.  S'^  notes  of  hand  are  given  to  my  Grandfather  Jonathan 
Green  as  my  agent.  S^^  Notes  when  paid  together  with  the  Money  I 
have  Received  of  the  above  named  persons  is  in  full  for  all  the  time 
or  Bounty  that  s"^  persons  agreed  and  promised  to  give  me  for  Enlist- 
ing into  the  Continental  Army  as  a  Soldier  for  s"^  Class  as  witness  my 
hand.  Daniel  Green  ye  3d. 

Maiden  May  y^  11,  1781 

In  the  war  of  1812,  and  in  the  war  with  Mexico,  Maiden  had 
her  soldiers,  and  some  of  the  enlistments  were  from  North 
Maiden. 

As  to  the  Civil  War,  the  Great  Rebellion  of  1861:  In  1868, 
a  volume  containing  321  pages  was  published,  giving  a  history 
of  the  part  taken  in  this  war,  with  the  following  title  page:  The 
Melrose  Memorial:  The  Aujials  of  Melrose,  Cou/ity  of  Middlesex, 
Massachusetts,  in  the  Great  Rebellion  of  1861-6^.  By  Elbridge  H. 
Goss.  Privately  Printed  by  Subscription,  1868.  This  work  is  now 
out  of  print;  and  as  it  gave  the  details  of  the  action  of  Melrose 
at  that  time,  and  the  names  of  those  who  enlisted  on  her 
different  quotas,  with  all  the  details  of  their  service,  it  seems 
fitting  to  embody  the  most  essential  facts  from  that  volume  in 
this;  some  portions  verbatim  et  literatim,  and  some  portions 
condensed.  A  list  of  the  names  only  of  those  who  were 
citizens,  and  served  on  our  quotas,  will  here  be  given;  non- 
resident substitutes  will  be  omitted.  For  much  information 
concerning  the  individual  history  of  our  "Boys  in  Blue,"  bio- 
graphical sketches,  rebel  prison  experiences,  and  other  inci- 
dents, see  that  work. 

money  and  a  leg  of  bacon.  He  form,  with  his  militar}-  badge  pin- 
joined  the  army,  went  through  the  ned  upon  his  breast,  and  parade  the 
Revolutionary  War,  and  returned  streets,  shouting  '  Cambric,'  mean- 
to  Maiden  to  live,  and  where  he  ing  Cambridge.  He  died  at  the 
embraced  every  opportunit}'  on  almshouse  at  an  advanced  age. 
'  Muster  Days'  to  don   his  old  uni- 


MILITARY  HISTORY. 


217 


1861. 

The  first  gun  that  spat  its  iron  insult  at  Fort  Sumter, 

Smote  every  loyal  American  in  the  face. —  Oliver  Wendell  Holmes. 

On  the  twelfth  of  April,  i86i,  the  bloody  hand  of  Treason 
Avas  lifted  against  our  Nationality,  by  the  bombardment  of 
Fort  Sumter,  at  Charleston,  South  Carolina.  The  Stars  and 
Stripes,  which  had  hitherto  waved  aloft  so  gloriously,  and 
so  triumphantly,  were  now  lowered  at  the  impious  behests 
xDf  Slavery,  and  were  trailing  in  the  dust.  Great  was  the  sur- 
prise, intense  the  interest,  and  mighty  the  indignation  which 
the  telegraphic  announcement  of  the  fact  created  throughout 
the  length  and  breadth  of  our  land.  By  this  infamous  act 
every  loyal  heart  was  insulted;  and,  at  the  reception  of  the 
news,  every  such  heart  was  thrilled  and  stirred  to  its  inmost 
recesses. 

By  the  insolent  assertion  of  Jefferson  Davis,  on  the  i8th  of 
February,  i86i — when  the  Confederate  Government  was  in- 
stituted at  Montgomery,  Ala.,  two  weeks  previous  to  the 
inauguration  of  President  Lincoln''  — by  the  firing  upon  the 
"Star  of  the  West,"  when  on  its  errand  of  merc}^  three  months 
before  the  assault  on  Fort  Sumter — by  the  boast  of  the  Con- 
federate Secretary  of  War,  L.  P.  Walker,  on  the  day  of  the 
bombardment,*^  by  the  treasonable  and  rebellious  utterances 
of  the  Southern  press'^  — by  the  seizure  of  arsenals,  forts  and 
other  public  property,  to  the  amount  of  many  millions  of 
dollars  —  by  all  these  acts  it  became  painfully  evident  that 
sla\-ery  had  determined  to  break  up  this  government,  or 
commence  a  devastating  civil  war. 

By  the  attack  upon  the  heroic  band  of  patriots  under  Major 
Anderson,  at   P'ort  Sumter,  all   hope  of  a  peaceful   settlement 


^  "The  day  of  compromise  is  past, 
and  those  who  now  resist  us  shall 
smell  Southern  gunpowder  and  feel 
Southern  steel." 

^  "  No  man  can  tell  when  the  war 
this  i\a\  commenced  will  end;  ])ut 
I  will  prophecy  that  the  flag  which 
now  flaunts  the  breeze  here,  will 
float  over  the  dome  of  the  old  capi- 
tol  at  Washington  before  the  first 
of  May.  Let  them  try  Southern 
chivalry    and    test    the    extent   of 


Southern  resources,  and  it  may 
float  eventuall)'  over  P'aneuil  Hall 
in  Boston." 

"  The  Richmond  Whig,  with 
others,  reiterated  the  threats  of  the 
vSecession  leaders,  saying,  "  From 
the  mountain  tops  and  valleys  to 
the  shore  of  the  sea,  there  is  one 
wild  shout  of  firm  resolve  to  cap- 
ture Washington  City  at  all  and 
every  human  effort. 


218  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

of  the   issue  was   extinguished;    and,   by   its   fall    the   mighty- 
energy  of  the  North  was  aroused. 

"  Like  some  old  organ  peal, 
Solemn  and  grand. 
The  anthem  of  Freedom 
Sweeps  through  the  land." 

One  purpose  seemed  to  spring  into  existence  instantly,  and 
animate  every  heart  —  a  determination  to  maintain  our  national 
existence  at  any  and  all  sacrifices.  "  Heart  throbbed  to  hearty 
lip  spoke  to  lip,  with  a  oneness  of  feeling  that  seemed  like  a 
Divine  inspiration."  On  the  instant  we  saw  a  "  noble  and 
puissant  nation  rousing  herself  like  a  strong  man  from  sleep, 
and  shaking  her  invincible  locks."  And,  when  on  the  15th  of 
April,  Abraham  Lincoln,  President  of  the  United  States,  issued 
his  Proclamation,  convening  an  extra  session  of  Congress,  and 
calling  upon  the  States  for  seventy-five  thousand  (75,000) 
troops  to  defend  the  capital  and  public  property,  the  response 
was  truly  wonderful  and  glorious. 

The  plough,  the  loom,  the  counting-house,  the  bar,  the  pulpit,  all 
the  avocations  of  ordinary  life  were  abandoned ;  men  of  all  conditions 
and  circumstances  flew  to  arms  in  response  to  the  call  of  the  nation's 
chief  magistrate.  1" 

Thanks  to  the  foresight,  thoughtfulness  and  energy  of 
Governor  Andrew,  Massachusetts  was  ready  at  once  to  send 
her  regiments  to  defend  the  flag  at  Washington. 

The  first  call  upon  Massachusetts  for  troops  was  by  a 
telegram  from  Senator  Wilson,  April  15th,  requesting  twenty 
companies  of  militia  to  be  sent  immediately  to  Washington, 
and  there  mustered  into  service.  Official  requisition  from  the 
Secretary  of  War  came  later  in  the  day.  Governor  Andrew  at 
once  issued  his  orders  to  the  commanders  of  the  Third,  P\)urth, 
Fifth,  Sixth  and  Eighth  Regiments.  On  the  17th  the  Sixth 
Regiment  was  on  its  way,  and  on  and  l)efore  nine  o'clock  of 
the  next  Sunday,  the  21st  —  six  da}'s  only  after  the  call  was 
made  —  the  Governor  was  enabled  to  say  that  "the  whole 
number  of  regiments  demanded  from  Massachusetts  were 
already  in  Washington,  or  in  P\)rtress  Monroe,  or  on  their  way 
to  the  defence  of  the  capital."    And  Edward  P^verett,  speaking 

^^  Histo}'y  of  the  Old  Sixtli  Rcgi-  in  tJirce  Campaigns,  by  Chaplain 
ment  of  ]\/assachnsctts    Volunteers      John  W.  Hanson. 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  219 

at  Roxbiiry  a  few  da}'s  later,  said:  "Wide  as  the  summons  has 
gone  forth,  it  has  been  obeyed  with  an  alacrity  and  unanimity 
that  knew  no  parallel  in  our  histor}'  ;  and  the  volunteers  of 
Massachusetts  have  been  the  first  in  the  field." 

History  records  very  many  pathetic  and  interesting  facts 
and  incidents  connected  with  the  assembling  and  going  forth 
of  these  regiments,  showing  with  what  willing  and  cheerful 
obedience  lucrative  positions  and  professional  pursuits  were 
given  up,  that  the  country's  honor  might  be  saved. 

Like  all  the  cities  and  towns  throughout  the  loyal  Norths 
Melrose  realized  the  excitement  and  felt  the  danger  as  thor- 
oughly as  any  of  them;  but  being  then  a  small  town,  and 
having  no  military  organizations,  there  was  no  immediate  stir 
in  our  streets  —  no  sound  of  fife  and  drum  — nor  the  hurry  and 
bustle  consequent  upon  the  gathering  of  military  companies, 
that  was  experienced  in  larger  communities;  )-et  its  citizens 
were  aroused,  and  we  had  several  patriotic  young  men  that  at 
once  buckled  on  the  armor  and  moved  to  the  scene  of  conflict. 
Four  men  enlisted  in  Co.  B,  Fifth  Massachusetts  Regiment, 
and  one  in  Co.  F,  of  the  Fourth  Regiment.  Their  names  and 
those  of  all  subsequent  enlistments  are  in  the  alphabetical  list 
at  the  end  of  this  chapter. 

On  the  3d  of  May,  1861,  President  Lincoln  issued  his  second 
call  for  troops,  which  was  for  volunteers  to  serve  for  a  period 
of  three  years,  unless  sooner  discharged;  and  on  the  same  day 
our  Selectmen  issued  a  warrant,  calling  a  Town  Meeting,  to 
take  place  at  Concert  Hall,  on  the  evening  of  May  6th.  A 
very  large  and  enthusiastic  meeting  was  accordingly  held,  at 
which  Charles  F.  Esty  was  chosen  Moderator,  and  the  follow- 
ing votes  were  passed  unanimously: 

That  the  Town  of  Melrose  appropriate  the  sum  of  Three  Thousand 
dollars  (#3000)  for  the  relief  of  the  families  of  the  citizens  of  Melrose, 
now  absent  in  the  service  of  the  United  States,  or  who  may  hereafter 
volunteer  into  the  service  of  the  United  States,  or  the  State  of  Massa- 
chusetts. Also  to  aid  volunteers  of  the  town  in  their  equipment,  and 
to  give  such  relief  in  the  premises  as  the  exigencies  and  necessities  of 
each  may  require. 

Also  that  above  all  other  appropriations  the  sum  of  Fifteen  Dollars 
per  month  be  paid  to  those  persons  having  families  and  the  sum  of 
Ten  Dollars  per  month  to  those  who  are  single  men,  during  their  time 
of  service  in  the  war  now  pending. 

It  was  also  voted: 


•220  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

That  the  Town  Treasurer  be  authorized  to  borrow  such  sums  of 
money  as  might  be  wanted  from  time  to  time  to  cover  the  appropria- 
tions then  made;  and  that  the  Selectmen  —  Colonel  John  H.  Clark, 
and  Messrs.  William  B.  Burgess  and  George  M.  Fletcher  — constitute 
a  committee  to  superintend  the  disbursements  of  the  money  thus 
appropriated. 

A  stirring  and  patriotic  speech  was  made  by  Napoleon  B. 
Eryant,  ex-Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives  of  New 
Hampshire,  then  a  resident  of  Melrose. 

As  Melrose  raised  no  whole  company  for  any  regiment,  our 
men,  as  they  enlisted,  selected  the  regiment  or  battery  in 
which  they  preferred  to  serve;  consequently  they  were  much 
scattered,  and  entered  many  different  organizations  before  the 
war  was  ended. 

Our  earliest  enlistments  were  in  the  Second,  Twelfth  and 
Thirteenth  Regiments  of  Infantry,  mostly  in  the  latter  regi- 
ment. The  nucleus  of  the  Thirteenth  Regiment  was  the  Fourth 
Battalion  of  Rifles,  into  which  our  men  enlisted  when  the  Presi- 
dent issued  his  call  for  seventy-five  thousand  (75,000)  troops, 
or  immediately  after  the  assault  upon  the  Sixth  Regiment  in 
Baltimore,  April  19th,  and  which  was  ordered  to  Fort  Inde- 
pendence. As  no  more  troops  for  a  short  term  were  wanted, 
the  Batallion  was  recruited  to  a  three  years'  regiment.  On  a 
Sunday  evening,  just  before  the  regiment  left  for  Washington, 
the  soldiers  belonging  to  Melrose  met  in  the  Baptist  Church, 
when  the  pastor,  Rev.  James  Cooper,  presented  to  each  one  a 
Testament,  accompanied  by  an  address  and  prayer.  On  a  fly- 
leaf of  each  Testament  was  written,  besides  the  name,  the 
words  "  God  and  our  Country." 

Another  call  for  volunteers  to  serve  for  three  years,  or 
during  the  war,  was  made  by  the  President  in  July,  and  our 
-citizens  continued  to  enlist  during  that  and  the  succeeding 
months  of  that  year  in  the  various  infantry  and  cavalry  regi- 
ments then  forming  and  recruiting. 

Melrose  was  represented  in  the  following  organizations:  the 
Sixteenth,  Seventeenth,  Eighteenth,  Twentieth,  Twenty-sec- 
ond, Twenty-third,  Twenty-fourth,  Twenty-sixth,  Thirtieth, 
and  Thirty-second  Massachusetts  Regiments,  and  the  Ninety- 
ninth  New  York  Regiment;  also  the  Second,  Third,  Fourth 
and  Fifth  Batteries;  also  the  First  Cavalry  Regiment. 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  221 

1862. 

On  the  first  day  of  July,  1862,  President  Lincoln  issued  his 
third  Proclamation,  callin.<>-  for  troops,  the  Governors  of  eigh- 
teen loyal  states  havins^  joined  in  an  address  to  him,  sug^^est- 
ing  the  necessity  of  so  doing.  This  call  was  for  three  hundred 
thousand  (300,000)  volunteers,  to  serve  for  three  years,  or 
until  the  end  of  the  war.  These  were  to  form  new  regiments 
and  batteries,  and  fill  up  the  depleted  ranks  of  those  then  in 
the  service. 

The  nation  had  passed  through  a  year  of  successes  and 
reverses,  and  this  new  call  came  just  at  the"  time  of  the  dis- 
heartening result  of  the  campaign  before  Richmond,  when 
Gen.  McClellan  and  his  army  were  falling  back  to  Harrison's 
Landing,  on  the  James  River. 

The  proportion  of  the  three  hundred  thousand  (300,000) 
men  assigned  to  Massachusetts  was  fifteen  thousand  (15,000). 
The  quota  of  Melrose  was  thirty-seven  (37)  men.  On  the 
evening  of  July  14th,  immediately  after  the  promulgation  of 
this  order,  a  war  meeting  was  held  in  Lyceum  Hall,  at  which 
Col.  John  H.  Clark  was  cho.en  Moderator,  and  Thomas 
Shelton,  Secretary.  Patriotic  speeches  were  made  and  it  was 
determined  to  raise  the  quota  of  M(  Irose  at  once. 

A  proposition  was  submitted  to  the  meeting  by  Rufus  Smith, 
of  the  following  tenor,  viz:  —  That  enough  of  the  citizens  of 
the  town  to  fill  the  quota,  then  and  there  pledge  themselves 
either  to  enlist,  or  furnisli  substitutes. 

The  following  gentlemen  gave  their  names,  agreeing  to  abide 
by  the  proposition.  The  fir.st  four  proposed  to  furnish  two- 
substitutes  each,  the  rest  one: 

Rufus  Smith,  Theodore  L.  Knowles, 

George *VV.  Heath,  George  Emerson,  2d, 

David  Fairbanks,  Moses  Parker,  M.  1)., 

F'rank  A.  Messenger,  R.  Watson  PLmerson, 

Napoleon  B.  l^ryant,  Elbridge  H.  Goss. 

George  A.  Bacon,  Thomas  C.  Evans, 

Charles  H.  Isbiirgh,  Anthony  Crosb\ , 

John  VV.  Fairbanks,  George  VV.  Emerson, 

Isaac  Emerson,  Jr.,  Daniel  Russell. 

Sums  ranging  from  twenty  to  fifty  dollars  each  were  paid 
for  these  substitutes,  in  addition  to  the  bounty  of  one  hundred 


222  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

dollars  voted  to  be  paid  by  the  town,  at  a  meeting  held  two 
weeks  later,  July  28th,  as  follows: 

Voted:  That  the  sum  of  thirty-seven  hundred  dollars  ($3,700)  be 
raised  to  pay  thirty-seven  (37)  able-bodied  men  who  shall  voluntarily 
enlist  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  under  the  recent  call 
of  the  President  of  the  United  States  for  three  hundred  thousand 
(300,000)  men ;  and  that  the  Selectmen  be  authorized  to  disburse  one 
hundred  dollars  ($100)  to  each  man  who  shall  enlist,  as  soon  as  he 
shall  have  been  accepted  by  the  military  authorities  of  this  State, 
and  mustered  into  said  service. 

It  was  also 

Voted:  That  the  sum  of  two  hundred  dollars  ($200)  be  raised  to  aid 
the  cause  of  enlistment,  to  be  disbursed  by  a  committee  chosen  at  this 
meeting,  in  such  manner  as  said  committee  deem  best. 

This  committee  consisted  of  Col.  John  H.  Clark,  William  B. 
Burgess  and  George  M.  Fletcher,  Selectmen,  and  Elbridge 
Gardner,  Isaac  Emerson,  Jr.,  and  John  VV.  Fairbanks. 

Encouraging  and  patriotic  speeches  were  made  by  several 
of  our  citizens.  In  order  to  encourage  and  obtain  enlistments, 
Henry  A.  Norris  offered  to  pay  the  sum  of  fifty  dollars  (^50) 
to  the  first  five  men  who  should  enlist  at  this  time. 

Daniel  W.  Wilcox  offered  to  pay  the  sum  of  ten  dollars 
($10)  each  to  the  next  ten  men  that  should  enlist  from  our 
town;  and  Napoleon  B.  Bryant  agreed  to  pay  the  sum  of  ten 
dollars  ($10)  each  to  all  others  who  should  sign  the  enlist- 
ment roll  on  that  evening. 

With  these  extra  inducements  a  number  of  our  young  men 
enlisted  at  this  time,  the  first  one  to  sign  his  name  to  the  roll 
being  William  Francis  Barry. 

Another  meeting  was  held  August  2d,  when  other  patriotic 
addresses  were  made,  and  sufificient  enlistments  were  then 
made  to  more  than  fill  our  required  quota.  Those  who  enlisted 
during  this  call  went  into  the  Eleventh,  Thirty-third,  Thirty- 
eighth  and  Thirty-ninth  Regiments,  the  First  Heavy  Artillery, 
Ninth  and  Thirteenth  Batteries,  and  the  Second  and  Third 
Cavalry  Regiments. 

The  following  vote  pertaining  to  the  welfare  of  our  soldiers, 
was  passed  in  the  earlier  part  of  this  year.  March  31,  1862, 
the  town  voted  : 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  223 

To  raise  the  sum  of  Twenty-Five  Hundred  Dollars  for  the  aid  of  the 
families  of  Volunteers  as  provided  in  Chapter  222,  of  the  Acts  of  1861. 

On  the  4th  of  August,  1862,  President  Lincoln  issued  bis 
proclamation  calling  for  three  hundred  thousand  (300,000) 
more  troops,  to  serve  for  nine  months;  a  draft  to  be  made  if 
the  quotas  were  not  filled  by  volunteers  by  the  15th  of  August. 

The  proportion  assigned  by  the  War  Department  to  Massa- 
chusetts was  nineteen  thousand  and  eighty  (19,080)  men. 
The  quota  of  Melrose  was  seventy-nine  (79)  men.  Several 
spirited  war  meetings  were  held,  when  addresses  were  made  by 
citizens  and  others,  and  in  a  short  time  this  quota  was  also 
filled. 

A  Town  Meeting  was  held  August  21,  when  the  following 
action  was  taken.     It  was  voted: 

That  the  Town  raise  an  amount  of  money  equal  or  equivalent  to  the 
sum  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  ($150)  per  man,  for  every  man 
who  is,  or  who  may  be  required  from  this  Town  to  answer  to  the 
recent  call  of  the  President  of  the  United  States  for  additional  troops 
for  nine  months'  service,  to  serve  in  the  army  of  the  United  States; 
and  that  the  Treasurer  is  authorized  and  required,  under  the  direction 
of  the  Selectmen,  to  borrow  that  amount  of  money  and  pay  the  same 
to  such  parties  who  may  volunteer,  and  are  properly  and  legally 
accepted  by  the  proper  and  legal  authorities  for  such  service. 

It  was  also  voted: 

That  a  Rallying  Committee  of  twent}'-five  men  be  appointed  by  the 
chairman  of  this  meeting,  with  full  powers  to  call  meetings  and  per- 
form such  other  duties  as  they  may  deem  necessary;  and  that  an 
appropriation  of  three  hundred  dollars  ($300)  for  incidental  expenses 
be  made  by  the  Town,  to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  said 
committee. 

The  following  citizens  Avere  appointed  to  serve  on  that  com- 
mittee: 

Rufus  Smith,  R.  Watson  Emerson, 

Nelson  Cochran,  Frank  A.  Messenger, 

Michael  A.  McCafferty.  Napoleon  B.  Bryant, 

Moses  Parker,  M.  D.,  Isaac  Emerson,  Jr.,  ' 

Samuel  O.  Dearborn,  Joel  Snow, 

Henry  A.  Norris,  George  W.  Emerson, 

Henry  B.  Newhall,  Philip  B.  Holmes, 

Fernando  C.  Taylor,  Levi  S.  Gould, 

John  S.  Sewall,  Walter  Babb, 


224  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Daniel  Norton,  Jr.,  Allen  C.  Goss, 

Josiah  P.  Mendum,  Addison  W.  Banfield, 

George  A.  Bacon,  Isaiah  A.  Young, 

Stephen  W.  Shelton. 

The  Selectmen  were  afterwards  joined  to  this  committee. 
Owing  to  the  measures  taken  at  these  various  meetings  the  fol- 
lowing document — whereby  the  signers  agreed  to  pay  their 
just  proportion  of  all  taxes,  and  to  indemnify  all  town  officers 
for  any  action  taken  in  carrying  out  the  wishes  of  the  town — 
was  circulated  for  signatures: 

AGREEMENT. 

Be  it  remembered,  that  whereas  the  Town  of  Melrose,  at  several 
meetings  called  for  that  ]puipose,  have,  with  great  unanimity,  passed 
sundry  votes  providing  for  the  payment  of  bounty  to  our  volunteers, 
and  for  the  support  of  their  families,  and  other  incidental  war  pur- 
poses, which  votes  may,  upon  nice  and  technical  grounds,  be  regarded 
as  invalid  in  law,  —  Now,  therefore,  we  the  undersigned.  Tax-payers  in 
the  Town  of  Melrose,  hereby  waive  all  objections  to  the  form,  sub- 
stance, or  validity  of  said  proceedings;  and  agree  to  pay  all  taxes 
assessed  against  us  respectively  arising  from  said  votes. 

And  we  severally  hereby  release  any  present  or  future  officer  of  said 
Town  from  all  actions,  or  causes  of  action,  on  account  of  the  assess- 
ment or  collection  of  the  aforesaid  tax ;  all  of  which  we  feel  in  duty 
bound  to  do,  as  true  and  loyal  citizens,  resolved  to  make  any  sacrifice 
necessary  for  the  most  vigorous  prosecution  of  the  war,  and  for  the 
honor  and  dignity  of  our  glorious  flag. 

The  nine  months'  volunteers,  most  of  whom  were  our  own 
citizens,  enlisted  in  the  Fifth,  Forty-second,  Forty-third,  Forty 
fourth,  Forty-fifth,  Forty-eighth  and  Fiftieth  Regiments. 

The  total  quota  of  Melrose  to  this  date,  of  three  years  and 
nine  months'  men,  was  one  hundred  and  eighty-four  (184)  and 
the  town  had  furnished  two  hundred  and  ten  (210)  men  for 
those  periods  of  service. 

On  the  22d  of  September  of  this  year — 1862 — was  issued  the 
great  Proclamation  by  President  Lincoln,  declaring  that  the 
slaves  of  all  persons  in  states  which,  on  the  first  day  of  Janu- 
ary, 1863,  should  be  in  rebellion,  "shall  be  henceforth  and 
forever  free." 

1863. 

At  a  Town  Meeting  held  March  30,  1863,  it  was  voted: 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  225 

That  the  Poll-Tax  of  all  the  Soldiers  in  the  field  from  this  town 
during  the  ensuing  year  be  abated,  and  all  who  from  wounds  or  dis- 
ability have  been  discharged  from  the  service  of  the  United  States. 

June  9,  it  was  voted: 

That  the  Selectmen  be  authorized  to  set  apart  a  portion  of  the  new 
Cemetery  [Wyoming]  for  the  use  of  those  soldiers  engaged  in  the 
present  war,  and  the  families  of  such  soldiers  as  may  choose  to  use  the 
same. 

An  Enrollment  or  Conscription  Act  having  been  passed  by 
Congress,  March  3,  1863,  for  the  purpose  of  recruiting  the  force 
in  the  field,  and  making  up  deficiences  on  the  calls  previously 
made,  a  new  enrollment  of  the  men  liable  to  do  military  duty 
was  ordered,  and  a  draft  of  such  enrolled  men  to  be  made  in 
July,  1863. 

These  Enrolled  men  were  divided  into  two  classes.  The 
first  class  comprised  all  persons  subject  to  do  military  duty 
between  the  ages  of  twenty  and  thirty-five  years,  and  all  un- 
married persons  subject  to  do  military  duty  between  thirty- 
five  and  forty-five  years.  The  second  class  comprised  the 
married  men  who  were  subject  to  do  military  duty  and  were 
more  than  thirty-five,  but  under  forty-five  years  of  age.  This 
draft  was  to  be  made  from  the  enrolled  of  the  first  class.  The 
quota  of  Massachusetts  on  this  last  call,  was  found  to  be  fifteen 
thousand  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  (15,126)  men;  and  that 
of  Melrose  to  be  twenty-four  (24)  men. 

On  the  25th  of  May,  Provost-Marshal  Herrick  appointed 
Stephen  Shelton  "Enrolling  Officer  for  Sub-District  No.  9, 
Town  of  Melrose."  By  this  enrollment  it  was  ascertained  that 
there  were  in  our  town,  at  this  time,  exclusive  of  those  then  in 
the  service,  one  hundred  and  sixty-two  (162)  persons  of  the 
first  class,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  (121)  of  the  sec- 
ond class. 

Under  this  law,  and  by  direction  of  Provost-Marshal  General 
James  B.  Fry,  four  drafts  were  made  throughout  the  loyal 
States  during  the  Rebellion.  The  first  commenced  about  the 
first  of  July,  1863,  and  was  for  one-fifth  of  the  persons  enrolled 
in  the  first  class.  The  second  commenced  about  the  15th  of 
April,  1864,  and  was  for  deficiencies  under  calls  for  seven 
hundred  thousand  (700,000)  volunteers.  The  third  com- 
menced about  the  19th  of  September,  1864,  for  deficiencies 
under  call  of  July  18,  1864,  for  five  hundred  thousand  (500,000) 


226  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

volunteers.  The  fourth  commenced  about  the  20th  of  Febru- 
ary, 1865,  for  deficiencies  under  call  of  December  19,  1864,  for 
three  hundred  thousand  (300,000)  volunteers. 

Captain  H.  G.  Herrick,  of  Saugus,  was  appointed  Provost- 
Marshal  for  this  district,  and  his  headquarters  were  at  Law- 
rence; and  on  the  days  of  drafting,  busy  and  interesting  scenes 
were  presented  at  his  ofifice,  there  being  a  great  desire 
manifested  during  the  progress  of  the  draft,  to  witness  the 
operation,  and  to  ascertain  who  were  the  unlucky  ones  whose 
names  should  be  taken  from  the  wheel  of  —  not  fortune,  but, 
to  them,  of — misfortune. 

The  first  draft  in  this  district  commenced  July  gth,  and 
Melrose  —  Sub-District  No.  9  —  was  reached  July  13th.  Forty- 
nine  (49)  names  were  drawn  from  the  wheel.  The  provisions 
of  the  act  were  such  that  any  person  drafted,  if  found  accept- 
able, could  be  exempted  from  service  by  furnishing  a  substi- 
tute, or  paying  three  hundred  dollars  (S300)  commutation. 

The  following  persons  were  drafted: 

Furnished  substitutes: 

Jonathan  C.  Howes,  Henr\^  W.  Barrett, 

George  W.  Emerson. 

Paid  commutation: 
William  F.  Gordon,  Joseph  A.  Fairbanks, 

Osgood  W.  Upham,  Charles  Robbins. 

The  rest  were  exempted  for  various  causes: 

Nathaniel  J.  Bartlett,  William  Donalavy, 

Richard  H.  Shelton,  Stephen  W.  Shelton, 

William  H.  Stone,  James  Astle, 

Charles  E.  Keith,  Joseph  Goodwin, 

Curtis  S.  Gordon,  Daniel  L.  Chase, 
Frederick  W.  A.  Rankin,  Jr.,     William  Cook, 

Jonathan  Barrett,  James  W.  Dodge, 

Elbridge  H.  Goss,  Lucius  L.  D.  Porter, 

William  F.  Morse,  Charles  A.  Waite, 

Moses  S.  Page,  Lewis  H.  Richardson, 

Albert  F.  Shelton,  Andrew  P.  Trott, 

Oren  Brown,  Leander  T.  Freeman, 

Theodore  L.  Knowles,  Walter  Babb, 

Charles  H.  Blaisdell,  Edmund  W.  Davis, 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  227 

John  H.  B.  Henderson,  William  A.  Fuller, 

Oren  H.  Peck,  William  Morse, 

Joseph  S.  Emerson,  John  L.  Alien, 

John  Thompson,  Joshua  Emery,  Jr., 

John  H.  Crocker,  Bradford  Edmands, 

Augustus  L.  Cheever,  George  W.  Grover,  Jr., 

Edward  Finnegan,  George  Hammond. 

The  enlisted  men  that  entered  the  service  at  this  time,  went 
into  the  Fifteenth,  Fift)'-fourth,  Fifty-sixth  and  Fifty-ninth 
Regiments,  and  the  Third  and  Fourth  Heavy  Artillery  Regi- 
ments. The  citizens  of  Melrose  were  determined  that  another 
draft  should  be  avoided  if  possible;  and,  although  others  did 
take  place  later,  they  were  of  no  avail,  as,  owing  to  strenuous 
efforts  put  forth  our  quotas  were  kept  full. 

At  a  Town  Meeting  held  November  3,  1863,  it  was  voted: 

That  the  Selectmen  be  instructed  to  call  a  meeting  at  an  early  day 
(as  can  be)  to  see  if  the  Town  will  borrow  the  sum  of — dollars  to  be 
used  as  the  Selectmen,  with  a  Committee  of  four  added  to  their  number, 
may  deem  expedient  in  aiding  the  recruiting  of  twenty-four  men,  the 
quota  of  Melrose  under  the  late  call  of  the  President  for  three  hundred 
thousand  (300,000)  Volunteers,  and  also  to  authorize  the  Treasurer  to 
borrow  the  same. 

November  14,  Stephen  W.  Shelton,  Isaac  Emerson,  Jr., 
Rufus  Smith  and  Charles  H.  Isburgh  were  appointed  on  that 
committee,  and  three  thousand  dollars  ($3,000)  appropriated 
for  their  use.     At  this  same  meeting  it  was  voted: 

To  oj^en  a  subscription  list  to  raise  a  fund  to  provide  all  families  of 
Volunteers  from  Melrose,  now  in  service,  with  means  to  provide  for 
them  such  a  Thanksgiving  Dinner  as  they  are  most  deservedly  en- 
titled to. 

It  was  also  voted  : 

That  the  Committee  chosen  at  this  meeting  be  a  permanent  Com- 
mittee to  look  after  the  interests  of  families  of  Volunteers  who  are  now 
or  may  be  hereafter  in  the  service  of  the  United  States  and  see  that 
they  are  properly  provided  for. 

1864-5. 

At  the  annual  Town  Meeting  in  March  1864,  it  was  voted  "to 

continue  State  Aid  to  families  of  Soldiers  as  provided  by  the 

Laws  of  the  Commonwealth;"  also  to  excuse  Isaac   Emerson, 

Jr.,  from  serving  longer  on    the    Recruiting    Committee,  and 


228  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

William  E.  Fuller  was  elected  Selectman  in  place  of  George 
M.  Fletcher;  and  the  Recruiting  Committee  now  consisted  of 
the  following  gentlemen:  Col.  John  H.  Clark,  chairman,  and 
Recruiting  Agent — by  appointment  of  Pro\^ost-Marshal  Her- 
rick — William  B.  Burgess,  William  E.  Fuller,  Stephen  W, 
Shelton,  Rufus  Smith  and  Charles  H.  Isburgh.  At  a  subse- 
quent meeting  held  April  II,  it  was  \'oted  that  this  same  Re- 
cruiting Committee  continue  its  labors,  and  four  thousand 
dollars  ($4,000)  were  appropriated  for  its  use.  This  commit- 
tee acted  throughout  the  continuance  of  the  war;  and  by  its 
spirited  and  strenuous  exertions — and  of  the  committee  as  pre- 
viously constituted — no  other  draft  was  ever  needed  in  order 
to  fill  our  several  quotas  under  the  calls  of  the  President,, 
issued  in  October,  1863,  and  February,  March,  July  and  Decem- 
ber, 1S64,  in  which  calls  a  million  and  a  half  of  men  were  asked 
for.  A  second  draft  was  made,  of  the  enrolled  men,  in  April,. 
1864,  but  none  of  the  drafted  were  required  to  report,  as  the 
quotas  were  then  filled. 

The  citizens  drawn  at  that  time  were  as  follows: 

John  Thompson,  William  Donalavy, 

Samuel  A.  Robinson,  Joseph  Goodwin, 

Alonzo  Patterson,  William   F.  Paul, 

William  A.  Fuller,  George  W.  Farnsworth, 

W'illiam  Clark,  Augustus  Ripley, 

Lyell  T.  Terwilleger,  Jar\-is  P.  Hudson, 

James  Biffin,  John  Perkins,  Jr., 

Fernando  C.  Taylor,  Timothy  Upham, 

David  A.  Alden,  John  H.  L.  Anderson, 

Gardner  Wheeler,  Sylvanus  Magoon, 

Joseph  Holbrook,  Edward  B.  Newhall, 

Thomas  Hawkins,  Daniel  R.  Woodward. 

Various  measures  were  taken  to  aid  the  Recruiting  Com- 
mittee in  its  efforts  to  procure  men,  with  which  to  fill  our 
different  quotas.  June  6,  1864,  a  Town  Meeting  was  held  at 
which  it  was  voted: 

That  the  Town  of  Melrose  appropriate  the  sum  of  ten  thousand 
dollars  (|  10,000)  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  recruits  for  any  future 
calls  there  may  be  made  by  the  President  of  the  United  States  for 
soldiers,  and  to  make  up  any  deficiencies  that  there  is,  or  has  occurred,. 
in  the  last  call  for  volunteers ;  and  that  the  present  Recruiting  Com- 
mittee of  the  Town  of  Melrose  proceed  immediately  to  recruit  or  pro- 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  229 

cure  men  in  anticipation  of  the  next  call,  or  calls,  that  may  be  made 
by  the  President  of  the  United  States.  And  that  the  Selectmen  be 
instructed  to  procure  the  bodies  of  all  those  of  our  citizen  soldiers  who 
have  or  may  lose  their  lives  in  this  war,  and  have  them  transported  to 
their  relatives  or  friends ; 

and  it  was  also  voted: 

That  the  Town  Treasurer  be  instructed  to  borrow,  from  time  to 
time,  such  sums  of  money  as  might  be  required  of  the  amount 
appropriated. 

The  raising  of  money  for  this  purpose,  in  this  manner,  was 
illegal,  as  the  Legislature  of  Massachusetts  had  provided,  by 
the  act  of  March  i6,  1864,  that  cities  and  towns  might  raise 
money  by  taxation,  or  otherwise,  for  the  purpose  of  procuring 
volunteers,  and  pay  to  each  one  enlisted  into  the  service  as  a 
part  of  the  quota  of  said  cities  and  towns,  a  sum  not  exceeding 
one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  (5125). 

A  petition  was  drawn  up,  signed  by  thirty-four  citizens,  and 
presented  to  the  Supreme  Judicial  Court,  asking  for  an  injunc- 
tion on  the  proceedings  at  the  above  Town  Meeting.  Such  an 
injunction  was  issued  by  Chief  Justice  George  T.  Bigelow, 
June  II,  1864.  This  was  afterwards  so  far  modified  as  to 
permit  the  paying  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars 
(S125)  by  the  Recruiting  Committee,  to  each  recruit  enlisted 
and  accepted  by  the  United  States  authorities  under  any  call 
of  the  President  made  between  the  first  day  of  March,  1864, 
and  the  first  day  of  March,  1865,  as  a  part  of  the  quota  of  the 
Town  of  Melrose  under  said  calls. 

At  this  time  recruits  for  the  army  cost  a  larger  sum  than  one 
hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars  (^125);  therefore  a  citizens' 
meeting  was  called,  to  take  into  consideration  the  best  manner 
of  raising  a  sum  of  money,  as  a  recruiting  fund,  to  aid  the 
committee  in  the  furnishing  of  men  for  our  quotas.  It  was 
decided  to  raise  the  same  by  subscription;  and  at  a  subsequent 
meeting  the  following  gentlemen  were  appointed  a  committee 
to  solicit  subscriptions:  Wingate  P.  Sargent,  Daniel  Norton, 
Jr.,  Levi  S.  Gould,  Isaac  Emerson,  Jr.,  Thomas  A.  Long  and 
Joseph  t).  Wilde.  Mr.  Sargent  was  appointed  treasurer,  and 
after  the  collections  were  made,  nearly  six  thousand  dollars 
(;?6,ooo)  the  money  was  paid  over  to  Colonel  Clark,  as  chair- 
man of  the  Recruiting  Committee.  The  names  of  the  sub- 
scribers to  this  fund,  and  the  amounts  paid,  are  as  follows: 


230 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Wingate  P   Sargent, 
Daniel  Norton,  Jr., 
Rufus  Smith,     .     . 
Alverse  L.  White, 
Isaac  Emerson,  Jr., 
Wickham  C.  McNish 
Samuel  E.  Sewall, 
Daniel  W.  Gooch, 
Daniel  W.  Foster, 
Samuel  S.  Houghton 
Joseph  D.  Wilde,    . 
Elisha  F.  Sears, 
Ralph  Warren, 
Charles  H.  Isburgh, 
George  A.  .Mansfield, 
Nathaniel  J.  Bartlett, 
George  G.  Wheeler, 
Jeremiah  Crowley, 
William  H.  Allen, 
Edgar  M.  Stevens, 
Devi  S.  Gould, 
Ira  H.  Bickford,     . 
Frank  O.  Dame,     . 
George  Hart,      .     . 
William  F.  Morse, 
Oliver  Whyte, 
Gardner  Wheeler, 
Walter  Littlefield,  Jr 
Henry  A.  Norris, 
Napoleon  B.  Bryant, 
Andrew  P.  Trott, 
R.  Watson  Emerson, 
Augustus  Barrett, 
John  Baldwin, 
Joseph  H.  Greene, 
William  H.  Stone, 
Simeon  Locke, 
Alonzo  V.  Lyude, 
George  Emerson, 
George  V.  Stone, 
Frank  A.  Messenger, 
Oren  H.  Peck,    .     . 
Joseph  A.  Fairbanks, 
George  M.  Fletcher, 
S.  W.  Heald,      .      . 
James  M.  Beckett, 
Edward  R.  Knights, 
John  L.  Allen, 
Jarvis  P.  Hudson, 
Albert  P.  Perkins, 


I250 

130 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

100 

80 

75 

75 

75 

75 

75 

75 

60 

50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
45 
40 

30 
30 
30 
30 
30 
25 
25 


ThomasA.  Long, 
Erastus  F\  Bradford, 
Benjamin  F.  Greene, 
George  N.  Noyes, 
Dr.  George  Macomber, 
Joel  Bowker, 
Charles  H.  Blaisdell, 
Daniel  Jefferson,    . 
Dr.  Moses,      .... 
Allen  C.Goss,    .     .     . 
Fernando  C.  Taylor, 
Joseph  E.  Westgate, 
James  A.  Barrett,   . 
George  C.  Sargent, 
Samuel  S.  Bugbee, 
Anthony  Crosby,    . 
John  H.Clark,   .     . 
George  Newhall,    . 
William  O.  Lyude, 
Charles  Larrabee, 
John  S.  Higgins,    . 
John  Shelton,     . 
C.  Edgar  Buffum, 
Henry  A.  Leonard, 
Rufus  Leavitt,   .     . 
Robert  J.  Chute,    . 
Obadiah  S.  Edgerly, 
Sargent  F.  Severence 
Liberty  Bigelow,    . 
John  Conway,  Jr., 
Jonathan  Barrett, 
Charles  Boardman, 
John  W.  Cobb,   .     . 
Elbridge  Gardner, 
Peter  Edgerly,  . 
Jeremiah  Martin,   . 
Horatio  N.  Perkins, 
George  F.  Boardman 
Josiah  P.  Mendum, 
Stephen  Shelton.   . 
Lewis  G.  Coburn,  . 
Frederick  W.  A.  Rank 
Thomas  J.  Kimball, 
John  S.  Sewall,       . 
Elbridge  H.  Goss, 
John  W.  Tower, 
George  R.  Forsythe 
P.  Russell  Ellis,     . 
Sylvanus  Upham, 
Charles  F'urneaux, 


I25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
25 
Jr->  25 
25 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 
20 


MILITARY  HISTORY. 


231 


Edward  B.  Nevvhall,  , 
John  Smith,        .     .     , 
Nelsou  Cochran,     ,     . 
John  W.  Buttrick, 
Daniel  O.  Morton, 
Leonard  Lynde,      .     . 
Henry  B.  Nevvhall,     . 
Artemas  Barrett,    .     . 
George  W.  Bartlett,    . 
Robert  W.  Pierce, 
George  W.  Pollock,    . 
George  B.  Sargeut,     . 
Caleb  Howard,    . 
Christopher  Kirmes, 
Joseph  Mclntire,    .     . 
James  Astle,       .     .     . 
John  L.  Andrews,  .     . 
William  F.  Poole, 
Lyell  T.  Terwilleger, 
Alfred  W.  Sprague,    . 
William  H.  Wells,      . 
George  A.  Chipman,  . 
Isaiah  A.  Young,    .     . 
Benjamin  Underwood, 
Charles  A.  Messenger, 
Walter  Babb,      .     .     . 
Solomon  Severy,    .     . 
John  Q.  Adams,      .     . 
Alonzo  Patterson, 
Samuel  O.  Dearborn, 
Peter  Batchelder, 
Joel  Atwood,       .     .     . 
George  C.  Stantial,     . 
Thomas  W.  Chadbourne 
Asa  H.  Jones,     .     .     . 
Samuel  M.  Tourtellot, 
George  Hem  m  in  way, 
Samuel  Barker,       .     . 
Martin  Ellis,      .     .     . 
Walter  R.  Collins,      , 
William  B.  Burgess,   . 
Charles  E.  Keith, 
Samuel  F.  Summers, 
John  Robsou,     .     .     . 
Dr.  Benjamin  F.  Abbott 
William  W.  Vaughn, 
G.  W.  Gilraan,   .     .     . 
Calvin  Stone,     .     .     . 
William  D.  Stratton, 
Sullivan  C.  Atwood,  . 


|20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

20 

15 

15 

15 

15 

15 

15 

15 

15 

15 

15 

14 

10 

10 

10 

10 

ID 
ID 
10 
10 
10 
ID 
10 
ID 
ID 


Calvin  N.  Chapin, 
Hiram  D.  Richardson, 
Azel  E.  Steele,        .     . 
Elbridge  Green,     .     . 
Benjamin  Roach,    .     . 
Charles  P.  Lynde, 
Rev.  Nathan  P.  Selee, 
James  S.  Sturtevant, 
William  M.  Gilmore, 
James  Small,      .     . 
Alvin  Lynde,     .     . 
William  Clark, 
J.  B.  Daniels,      .     . 
Lawrence  K.  Munn, 
Charles  F.  Bowker, 
Moses  A.  Noyes,     . 
Addison  Lane,    .     . 
Edmund  B.  Little, 
William  L.  Pierce, 
Royal  P.  Barry, 
Lewis  H.  Richardson 
Jabez  G.  Hayward, 
Francis  Fountain, 
George  Sargent, 
Dexter  Pratt,     .     . 
George  C.  Brown, 
Dr.  Abel  Astle, 
George  Lynde, 
Josiah  H.  Barker,  . 
Martin  B.  Loring, 
J.  T.  Marcy,        .     . 
George  W.  Fisher, 
Albert  A.  Gould,    . 
Benjamin  R.  Walker 
Augustus  Brooks,  . 
William  Finnegan, 
Dennis  Finnegan, 
Joseph  C.  Bowker, 
Emery  Close,     .     . 
Ansel  B.  Pierce, 
George  Woodward, 
John  Hurley,      .     . 
Edward  Moore, 
Thomas  Cowhey,    . 
Thomas  Freeman, 
Solomon  L.  Howes, 
Paschal  E.  Burnham, 
John  P.  Buttrick,    . 
E.  B.  Southwick,   . 
Henry  Robinson,   . 


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5 

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5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 

5 


232 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Charles  F.  Upham,     . 

$5 

Robert  Wheeler, 

.        I5 

Jasper  F.  Ferdinand, 

5 

William  A.  Lamson,  . 

5 

John  Gately,       .     .     . 

5 

Aaron  Green, 

5 

Ai  Rowe, 

5 

Oliver  T.  Wentworth, 

3 

Walter  Murphy,     .     . 

5 

Reuben  T.  Haley, 

3 

Henry  J.  Robinson,    . 

5 

Nathaniel  Howard,     . 

3 

Daniel  Conway,      .     . 

5 

Samuel  D.  Blanchard, 

2 

Joel  Snow,      .... 

5 

Carlon  Buffum,       .     . 

5 

Total  amount,    .     .     . 

I5.65O 

Osmore  Jenkins,     .     . 

5 

With  the  above  amount,  so  liberally  contributed  by  our 
citizens,  the  recruiting  committee  was  enabled  to  obtain  all 
the  men  required  to  fill  our  several  quotas,  by  adding  to  the 
amount  paid  to  each  recruit  by  the  town  —  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  dollars,  (^125) — whatever  sum  was  necessary;  the 
average  cost  of  a  recruit  at  this  time,  in  addition  to  the  State 
and  United  States  bount^^  being  about  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  (S250). 

Very  few  of  our  own  citizens  enlisted  during  the  last  year  of 
the  war,  although  quite  a  number  that  were  already  in  the 
service  re-enlisted;  such  re-enlistments  counting  on  our  quotas 
the  same  as  new  enlistments. 

On  the  third  and  fourth  drafts,  there  were  no  names  drawn 
in  Massachusetts,  her  quotas  being  more  than  full. 

During  the  year  1864,  an  arrangement  was  made,  by  which 
any  person  liable  to  do  military  duty  could,  in  anticipation  of 
the  draft  then  pending,  furnish  a  substitute.  Four  of  our  citi- 
zens availed  themselves  of  this  privilege,  paying  for  their  sub- 
stitutes sums  ranging  from  fi\e  hundred  and  seventy-fi\'e  to 
seven  hundred  dollars.  In  this  manner  men  were  added  to  our 
forces  in  the  field,  and  our  quota  was  reduced  to  an  equal 
extent.  George  P^merson,  2d,  George  W.  Heath,  James  O. 
Lynde  and  Daniel  W.  Wilcox  thus  furnished  substitutes. 

During  the  latter  part  of  this  year,  1864,  Massachusetts  and 
some  .other  loyal  States  sent  recruiting  agents  into  the  rebel- 
lious States,  at  points  occupied  b\'  our  forces,  for  the  purpose 
of  enlisting  colored  \'olunteers,  under  the  Act  of  Congress  ap- 
proved July  4,  1864. 

An  arrangement  was  also  made  by  which  any  person  not 
liable  to  be  drafted  into  the  military  service  of  the  United 
States,  by  reason  of  age  or  disability,  could  deposit  with  the 
treasurer  of  the  State  in  which  such  person  resided,  the  sum  of 
one  hundred  and   twenty-fi\'e  dollars  (S125),  and   be  assigned 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  233 

-one  of  the  volunteers  thus  enlisted,  such  volunteer  to  be  called 
a  "  Representative  Recruit."  The  recruits  thus  obtained,  and 
not  assigned  as  "  Representative  Recruits,"  were  apportioned 
among  the  various  towns  and  cities  of  the  Commonwealth  for 
which  the  enlistments  were  made. 

Three  citizens  of  our  town  availed  themselves  of  this  privi- 
lege of  putting  into  the  service  a  "Representative  Recruit," 
receiving  from  the  State  a  certificate  signed  by  the  Governor, 
John  A.  Andrew,  and  Provost-Marshal  Joseph  M.  Day,  giving 
the  names  of  the  "sable  volunteers"  thus  assigned  them.  The 
names  of  these  three  gentlemen  were:  David  Fairbanks, 
Daniel  Russell  and  Dexter  Bryant. 

In  July,  1864,  the  Secretary  of  War  made  a  requisition  upon 
Massachusetts  for  five  militia  regiments,  to  serve  for  the  period 
of  one  hundred  days,  during  the  time  the  re-enlisting  troops 
were  having  their  furloughs.  These  men  were  not  to  be 
■credited  to  the  quota  of  Massachusetts,  but  it  was  conceded 
that  whoever  should  serve  for  this  length  of  time  should  not  be 
liable  to  the  draft  then  pending.  Twenty  men  enlisted  from 
Melrose  in  four  different  regiments;  the  Fifth,  Sixth,  Eighth 
and  the  Sixtieth.  During  this  same  year  Massachusetts  sent 
into  the  field  thirteen  unattached  companies  of  infantry,  into 
one  of  which,  the  Seventh,  Melrose  sent  seven  men;  also  one 
man  into  the  Sixty-first  Regiment  which  was  organized  to 
serve  for  one  year. 

Melrose  was  also  well  represented  in  the  na\al  service.  July, 
.4,  1864,  Congress  passed  an  act  allowing  all  men  in  the  service 
to  be  credited  on  their  proper  quotas.  Those  whose  place  of 
residence  could  be  ascertained  were  assigned  to  their  several 
cities  and  towns.  There  were  seven  thousand  six  hundred  and 
five  (7,605)  men  whose  places  of  residence  could  not  be  ascer- 
tained; and  of  these  twenty-eight  were  assigned  to  the  quota  of 
Melrose;  and  thirteen  of  her  own  citizens  served  in  the  navy. 

The  whole  number  of  men  furnished  by  Melrose  for  the  war, 
for  the  several  terms  of  service,  of  all  arms,  including  both 
army  and  navy,  and  including  the  eight  (8)  citizens  who 
■enlisted  on  other  cjuotas,  was  four  hundred  and  fifty-four  (454)- 
Of  these  twenty-one  (21)  enlisted  men  lost  their  lives;  five  (5) 
were  killed  on  the  battle-field,  one  (i)  was  accidentally  shot; 
thirteen  (13)  died  of  disease  contracted  in  the  service,  and 
two  (2)  died  in  rebel  prisons. 


234  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

The  number  of  commissioned  officers  furnished  by  Melrose 
was  eighteen  (i8);  two  (2)  of  whom  lost  their  lives,  one  (i) 
on  the  field  of  battle,  and  one  (i)  died  of  disease  contracted 
in  the  service. 

The  following  letter  will  show,  taking  into  consideration  the 
population  and  wealth  of  Melrose,  that  the  town  furnished  a 
larger  proportion  of  men  for  service  during  this  Great  Rebel- 
lion, than  most  other  towns  and  cities: 

Provost-Marshal's  Office, 
6th  District,  Mass., 
Lawrence,  December  31,  1864. 
This  is  to  certify  that,  as  appears  by  the  records  of  this  ofliice,  the 
surplus  of  the  Town  of  Melrose,  over  all  calls,  is  seventy-four  (74)  men. 

H.  G.  Herrick, 
Captain  and  Provost-Marshal,  6th  Dist.  Mass. 

Relief  of  Soldiers  and  their  Families.  In  all  the 
cities  and  towns  of  the  Commonwealth,  large  contributions  of 
money,  clothing,  and  other  articles,  were  being  made  during 
the  entire  period  of  the  war.  In  many,  in  most  of  these  cities 
and  towns,  there  was  one  or  more  organized  societies  for  the 
disbursement  of  these  contributions.  Melrose  had  no  such 
regularly  organized  association,  although  much  was  done  for 
the  benefit  of  the  soldier  and  his  family  by  the  town  and  by 
individuals.  Of  the  unnumbered  pri\ate  donations  of  money, 
of  boxes  and  packages  of  soldiers'  necessities  and  luxuries,, 
sent  by  patriotic  mothers  and  sisters,  who  can  fully  estimate 
their  value,  or  the  benefit  derived  therefrom? 

The  generous  sympathy  and  munificent  gifts,  not  only  of 
our  own  citizens,  but  of  the  entire  people,  for  the  soldiers  and 
their  cause,  were  wonderful.     These  gifts  were 

from  every  department  of  social,  business  and  religious  life ;  from 
every  age,  sex  and  condition  of  our  community ;  by  gifts,  by  toil,  by 
skill  and  handiwork;  out  of  the  basket  and  the  store,  and  out  of  the 
full  hearts  of  the  community,  they  have  poured  through  countless 
channels  of  benevolence. 

As  an  instance  of  this  hearty  generosity,  only  one  of  many; 
nine  car-loads  of  hospital  stores  left  Boston  after  the  battles  of 
Groveton,  Second  Bull  Run  and  Chantilly,  which  ended  the 
campaign  under  Major-Gencral  John  Pope. 

In  addition  to  the  appropriation  of  three  thousand  dollars 
(^3,000)  appropriated  at  the  first  war  Town  Meeting,  May  6,. 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  235 

i86i,an  appropriation  of  twenty-five  hundred  dollars  (§2,500) 
was  made  at  the  annual  Town  Meeting  held  in  March,  1862, 
for  the  same  purpose,  to  aid  the  families  of  volunteers,  as  pro- 
vided by  Chapter  222,  Statutes  of  1861,  wherein  it  was  enacted 
that  the  State  should  reimburse  the  cities  and  towns,  to  a  cer- 
tain amount  per  family,  the  sums  thus  paid;  and  regularly,  at 
each  annual  Town  Meeting,  during  the  continuance  of  the  war, 
a  vote  of  similar  import  was  unanimously  passed. 

Other  votes  passed  by  the  town,  for  kindred  purposes  have 
been  given  in  previous  pages. 

In  July,  1862,  at  the  solicitation  of  William  F.  Poole,  a  sub- 
scription of  three  hundred  and  forty  dollars  ($340)  was  made 
by  the  following  gentlemen,  for  the 

puipose  of  promoting  recruiting  in  Melrose ;  for  equalizing  the  boun- 
ties of  those  patriotic  citizens  who  have  already  enlisted ;  and  for  the 
benefit  of  the  families  which  the  quota  from  Melrose  shall  leave  be- 
hind them : 

Samuel  E.  Sewall,  .  .  $75  Philip  B.  Holmes,  .  .  $25 

Andrew  J.  Morse,   .  .  50  Lewis  G.  Coburn,    .  .  25 

John  S.  Higgins,     .  .  50  William  F.  Poole,    .  .  25 

Daniel  W.  Gooch,   .  .  50  Charles  Kastner,     .  .  10 

George  W.  Heath,  .  .  50 

This  amount  was  disbursed,  mostly  in  aid  of  the  families  of 
volunteers,  by  the  treasurer  of  the  fund,  Andrew  J.  Morse. 

Guiding  Star  Lodge,  No.  28,  L  O.  of  G.  T.,  sent  to  the  seat 
of  war,  on  two  different  occasions  during  the  years  1861  and 
1862,  a  box  and  barrel  of  general  hospital  stores,  blankets, 
reading  matter,  etc.  At  different  times,  a  number  of  contribu- 
tions were  taken  up  in  our  various  churches  in  aid  of  those 
wonderful  monuments  of  the  free-will  offerings  of  the  loyal 
North,  the  "Christian"  and  "Sanitary  Commissions." 

The  Orthodox  Congregational  Church  sent  three  hundred 
thirty  dollars  and  six  cents  ($330.06),  besides  eighty-five  dol- 
lars and  twenty  cents  ($85.20)  contributed  for  the  benefit  of 
sick  and  wounded  soldiers  in  the  hospitals  at  Washington, 
which  amount  was  sent  to  and  distributed  by  Mrs.  Gooch  — 
wife  of  Hon.  Daniel  W.  Gooch,  then  our  Representative  in 
Congress  from  this  District  — whose  visits  and  kindnesses  will 
long  be  remembered  by  many  a  soldier.  The  Universalist 
Church  contributed  fifty  dollars  ($50)  to  the  "Sanitary  Com- 
mission,"  besides  sending   several    boxes   of   articles  suitable 


■236  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

for  the  sick  and  disabled  soldiers  in  Washington.  These  were 
5ent  to  and  distributed  by  Mrs.  Emma  Nichols  Marden.  The 
Methodist,  Episcopal  and  Baptist  Churches,  also  contributed 
generously  to  the  same  object,  but  no  record  was  made  of  the 
amount.  Eighty-seven  dollars  (S87)  was  paid  into  the  treas- 
ury of  the  "Christian  Commission,"  the  proceeds  of  a  concert 
given  under  the  auspices  of  John  H.  B.  Henderson. 

During  the  first  year  of  the  war,  many  of  our  ladies  met  in 
Lyceum  Hall,  a  number  of  days  in  succession,  for  the  purpose 
of  making  and  collecting  garments  and  articles  of  all  kinds 
suitable  for  the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  in  our  hospitals. 
A  large  collection  of  comforts  and  luxuries  was  thus  made, 
forwarded  and  distributed. 

Barrels,  boxes  and  bundles  of  such  necessary  articles,  in- 
cluding garments,  hospital  stores,  reading  matter,  etc.,  were 
also  collected  at  later  times  in  the  war  by  some  of  our  public- 
spirited  and  patriotic  ladies,  and  forwarded  to  either  the 
"Christian"  or  "Sanitary  Commissions." 

The  late  Rev.  John  C.  Ingalls  spent  the  winters  of  1861,  '62 
and  '63,  in  Washington,  D.  C;  and  on  one  occasion,  during  this 
time,  he  raised  the  sum  of  twelve  hundred  dollars  (Si, 200)  in 
the  cities  of  Philadelphia,  New  York,  Boston  and  Portland,  for 
the  sick  and  wounded  soldiers  at  the  Emory  Hospital  in 
Washington,  He  also  acted  as  chaplain  of  this  hospital  for  a 
number  of  weeks,  without  pay,  during  the  sickness  of  the  regu- 
lar chaplain.  Besides  which,  he  raised  the  money  for  build- 
ing a  chapel  for  the  use  of  this  same  hospital. 

Of  the  two  hundred  and  three  (203)  Melrose  citizens  who 
ser\-ed  in  the  ranks  of  our  army  and  nav\'  during  the  Civil 
War, 

who  helped  open  the  Mississippi,  who  were  present  at  Vicksburg,  Port 
Hudson,  New  Orleans  and  Mobile,  who  saw  the  starry  flag  as  it 
ascended  Missionary  Ridge,  and  witnessed  the  flight  of  Bragg  and 
his  host;  who  marched  from  Atlanta  to  the  sea,  and  who  were  among 
those  who  so  long  struggled  between  Washington  and  Richmond,  and 
"who  at  last  saw  the  rebel  flag  go  down  upon  the  Appomattox, 

twenty-three  (23)  of  them,  or  about  one  in  nine,  were  cither 
killed  on  the  battle-field  or  died  in  consequence  of  services 
rendered  in  the  great  contest.  Six  (6)  were  killed  by  the 
bullet  on  the  field,  and  the  rest  died  in  camp,  in  hospital,  in 
rebel  prisons,  or  after  returning  to  their  homes. 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  23T 

Two  (2)  commissioned  officers  and  twenty-one  (21)  enlisted 
men  constitute  the  oblation  made  by  Melrose  to  Treason! 

For  memoirs  and  biographical  sketches  of  the  "  unreturninf^ 
brave,"  those  that  suffered  in  rebel  prisons,  and  other  informa- 
tion, experiences  and  anecdotes  connected  with  the  history  of 
our  soldiers,  see  pages  138  to  243  of  the  Melrose  Memorial;  also- 
16  pages  of  collateral  information  in  the  Appendix. 


238 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


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MILITARY  HISTORY. 


245 


The  Minute  Men  of  i86i.  The  Legislature  of  1902  passed 
a  "Resolve  to  provide  for  Medals  for  the  Massachusetts 
Minute  Men  of  1861,"  appropriating  ^3,000  to  be  expended 
under  the  direction  of  the  Adjutant  General  for  medals  to  be 
given  to  all  those  officers  and  men,  who  responded  to  the  first 
call  for  troops,  by  President  Lincoln,  April  15,  1861.  The 
organizations  into  which  these  men  went  were  the  Third, 
Fourth,  Fifth,  Sixth  and  Eighth  Regiments,  the  Third  Ikittal- 
ion  and  the  First  Battery  of  Light  Artillery.  In  case  of  death 
the  medal  is  to  be  presented  to  some  heir  or  representative  of 
the  deceased. 

Melrose  had  five  such  respondents:  George  W.  Batchclder, 
Gurdon  McKay,  Thomas  Smith  and  William  Wyman  in  the 
Fifth  Regiment,  and  Seth  Morrison  in  the  Fourth. 


OBVERSE. 


REVERSE. 


The  medal  bears  this  inscription,  the  name  of  the  recipient 
being  engraved  on  its  edge: 

The  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts.  To  the  Members  of  the 
Massachusetts  Volunteer  Militia  who  were  mustered  into  the  United 
States  Service  in  response  to  President  Lincoln's  First  call  for  Troops, 
April  15,  1 861. 

On  the  bar: 

Massachusetts  Minute  Men,  1861. 


246  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Battery  C.  During  the  autumn  of  1873,  Battery  C,  Sec- 
ond Battalion  Light  Artillery,  then  commanded  by  the  late 
Col.  Clark  B.  Baldwin,  was  removed  from  Maiden  to  Melrose. 
After  occupying  temporary  quarters  for  a  while,  Henry  A. 
Leonard  erected  a  large  and  commodious  armory  building  for 
its  accommodation  on  Dell  Avenue,  into  which  the  Battery 
moved  in  the  fall  of  1874,  and  for  which  the  State  paid  an 
annual  rental  of  $600. 

For  a  number  of  years  the  organization  was  well  supported 
and  was  a  credit  to  the  Town  and  State;  but  in  time,  owing  to 
a  lack  of  interest  in  military  matters,  and  sufficient  support,  in 
this  community,  the  organization  was  disbanded  by  Governor 
Robinson  in  1886,  and  the  guns  and  equipments  were  removed 
to  Lawrence.  During  the  last  few  years  of  its  existence  here, 
Captain  Charles  O.  Boyd  was  in  command,  owing  to  the  illness 
of  Colonel  Baldwin,  who  died  Nov.  10,  1890. 

The  Spanish-American  War.  Resolutions  declaring  war 
with  Spain,  and  recognizing  the  independence  of  Cuba,  were 
introduced  in  both  branches  of  Congress,  March  29,  1898. 

April  22,  the  President,  William  McKinley,  called  for 
125,000  volunteers.  April  25,  Congress  declared  that  war 
with  Spain  had  existed  since  April  21.  The  President  made 
another  call  May  25,  for  75,000  more  volunteers. 

The  apportionment  to  Massachusetts  as  her  quota  was: 

On  the  first  call, 4.554 

On  the  second  call,  .....         2,834 


Making  a  total  of, 7,388 

As  in  the  "  Great  Rebellion,"  so  was  it  in  this  war.  Melrose 
having  no  military  company  of  its  own,  the  young  men  en- 
listed in  such  service  as  they  preferred  —  naval  or  military; 
consequently  thej^  were  scattered  in  many  regiments  and  war 
vessels. 

For  this  war  there  were  forty-one  men  belonging  to  Melrose 
who  served  in  the  various  organizations.  A  large  proportion 
of  them,  more  than  half,  were  in  the  Fifth  and  Sixth  Regi- 
ments, Massachusetts  Infantry,  U.  S.  V.;  largely  in  the  Maiden 
Company  of  the  Fifth  and  the  Wakefield  Company  of  the 
Sixth.  Others  were  in  the  Second  and  Eighth  Regiments.  A 
few  in  regiments  of  other  states.  The  rest  were  in  the  navy. 
The  following   were    in  the  P'ifth  Regiment,  which  was  mus- 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  247 

tered  into  the  United  States  service  July  i,  1898,  performed 
guard  and  camp  duties  in  various  localities,  and  was  mustered 
out  March  31,  1899: 

Barnes,  Ara  E.,  Co.  L.  Lyons,  Thomas,  Co.  L. 

Blades,  John  W.,  Co.  L.  Murphy,  Ralph  H.,  Co.  L. 

Brackett,  George  S.,  Co.  L.  Riley,  Edward  B.,  Co.  L. 

Fiske,  Harvey  P.,  Co.  E.  Smith,  Carl  \V.,  Co.  L. 

Loring,  Fred  M.,  Co.  L.  Smith,  Herbert  S.,  Co.  L. 

The  following  were  in  the  Sixth  Regiment,  which  was  mus- 
tered into  the  service  May  13,  1898,  performed  various  duties, 
went  through  the  Porto  Rico  campaign,  and  was  mustered  out 
January  21,  1899. 

Blades,  James  W.,  Co.  A. 

Bridge,  Charles,  Sergeant,  Co.  A. 

Brown,  Lewis  W.,  Co.  A. 

Camerlin,  Henry  G.,  Co.  H. 

Cass,  A.  H.,  Co.  H. 

Hathaway,  Joseph,  Co.  A. 

McDonald,  Thomas,  Co.  A. 

Ogilvie,  Walter,  Co.  H. 

Rich,  George,  Corporal,  Co.  A. 

Shaw,  Edward,  Co.  H. 

Tabbut,  George  H.,  Co.  A. 

Twitchell,  James  H.,  Co.  H. 

Warren,  Myris,  H.,  Co.  A. 

Wentzell,  E.  E.,  Co.  H. 
Myris  H.  Warren,  one  of  the  first  men  to  enlist,  served 
throughout  the  war  with  courage  and  devotion,  but  returned 
home  with  disease  contracted  in  the  army,  was  taken  to  the 
Melrose  Hospital,  where  he  died  November  25,  1898,  the  first 
Melrose  soldier  to  lose  his  life  in  the  service  of  his  country  in 
this  war. 

James  H.  Twitchell,  returned  with  his  regiment,  but  again 
re-enlisted,  is  still  in  the  service,  and  has  had  thus  far  a  varied 
experience  in  the  Philippines  and  China. 

In  the  Second  Regiment,  which  was  mustered  in  May  10, 
1898,  was  in  the  battles  of  El  Caney,  San  Juan  Hill  and 
Santiago,  and  was  mustered  out  November  3,  1898,  Melrose 
had  but  one  representative: 

Wooldridge,  Edwin  D.,  Co.  C. 
In  the  Eighth    Regiment,  which  was  mustered  in   May  ii, 


U  JS  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

l8oS.    |HMt\Mmcil     x.iiioiis    iMi.iul    .111(1    r.iinp    ihilics,    .nul    w.is 
imisU'u-il  out   .\|Mil  .'S,   iSoo.  Miliosi-  li.ul  iwo: 

(ioiiiiaii,  l.mu-s.  (.  o    K  ll.iiiiN.  Alliii   1,,  (.\>.  K. 

Ill  tlu-  Srxciilh   l\r:;mu'nl,  l'.  S.  liil.iiin\,  two; 

Kr\   lloKIs,     rililip.  \\\'Sl,     I'lmiKlll     A. 

Ill    tlu-    Nllllh    KosMUU'llt,    r,    S.    lllt.lllllN,    o\w. 

1  1  .i\\  lr\  ,    l.iiius.  I.  \v  (, '. 
riu-    Niiuli  w.is  111  (lu-   ImiiK-  ot    S.iii    111. Ill    llill.  .iml   tlu-  thst 
u-i^iiufut   ti<  rnti-i    S.iiui.ii^o.      ll,i\\U-\-  u-  riilisti'il  .nul  li,i>  Inn-ii 
111  tlu-  (.'hill. I  .(ml  rhijippiiu-  r.iiiip.HiMiN. 

Ill  tlu'   rwt'll'ih  Uri^imfut.  I  .  S.  liil.imis,  ono; 

lK-rsr\-.  M.iik  1  . 
J'irst  l,itnit(Mi.iiit  t, ''u.ii  In  lll,l■^l^•l  umU-i  (iriirt.il  (."h.ilToo, 
lH^I\>rt>  S.iutl.ii'.o  I  .ltd  W.IS  with  (niui.il  Sh.ilivi's  Pi\  isioii 
.11  r>Mto  Ku»>.  11. IS  luHMt  ill  tin-  riiilippino  aiul  (.'hiii.i  ^-.im- 
p.Ui^nis,  InlvMi- nili-i  mil;  t  ho  si.-r\  ico  lie  w  .is  'Milii,ir\  liistiiutor 
.11    1  l.iiA  .lul  (.'olloi^o. 

Ill  I'liNi   llo.i\\    Aitilloix.  r,  S,  \'.,  one; 
I  ikUi  w  ooil.  M.u'sh.ill 
lutoto   tlu-   w.ii    ho   W.IS    Soi.-oiul     Litnitoii.uU     in     n.iiioi\     lo 
Durin}4  ih^-  w.u  tlu-  n.nioty  w.is  stationoil  lirst  .u   I'on  W.mon, 
th<>n  at    riuiu    Islaiul  ami    l-'ori   C'ousiitiition,  .iiul  thou  .u    Now 
(.'.i<tK\  N.  11.      Ilo  is  mnv  l'"irst  1  iiMilcnant  ol  th.it  Ivittoiy. 
lu   hiist    \ow    \  Ol  k    KoiMuuiit,  ouo: 

1  \  luU-.   I'l.iuk  <.i  .  (.'o.  IX 
111  I'liNt   Nrw    1  l,iuip->hii o  l\OL;iiuout,  ouo; 
l\,iius.i\  ,  Aliio. 

\  w  \  Ko.u  Ailiuii.il  1\\  01  is  tlu'  luMo  ol  two  w.us.  Ilo 
w.isluMii  ill  Ti  o\  iuootow  11,  I'oImu.ha  lo.  iv^;o.  loi  tho  (."uil 
Wai.  ho  oulistoil  ill  tho  I'hiitoouth  Ri^i^iiwout  M.iss.iohusot Is 
\"oluuli'ors,  atul  wont  to  tho  iioiit  iii  |iil\-.  iScu.  Ilo  sorxoil  iu 
ill, It  lOiMinout  oiil\  until  tho  lollowiui^  Apiil,  w  lioii  ho  loooixoil 
,iu  .ippoiuli\loul  .is  M.istoi's  M.ito  111  tho  ii.i\  \  I'lisl  .is>i!4U0il 
to  tin-  r.  S.  S.  K.  R.  (."uxloi  to  noiao  mi  tho  (.lull  Siiu.ulrou. 
uiuloi  .Avlmii.il  I'.u  r.iL^ut.  TiouuMo^l  to  Av'tiii!^  l'"usiL;ii,  .M.i\ 
i."^.  i.'s(\;,  lof  "  i;.ill.iui  au^l  luotitorious  ooiuhut,"  ha\  iu^  ou  iho 
pio\iou>  lUL^ht  IniiiuHJ  .nul  iK^stioyod  tho  hlook.uK^  luiinoi 
"  l^.ihol,"  tioui  uiuloi  thoi^uusiW  I'oit  Moti^.ni,  in  Mohilo  Iviv; 
.1  ilaiiui:  .nul  ImiIIkiiU  .i^hio\A-inout.  ih.uaotovi/od  In  (.\iptaiu 
louott   as"v>uoot   tho  hohU^t   ol   tho  war,  ami  was  ovMuluctod 


MILITARY  HI5T0RY.  249 

with  matchless  coolness  from  bcjijinnin^'^  to  cnd."^  Promoted 
to  Acting  Master,  January  12,  1864;  Acting  Volunteer  Lieuten- 
ant, April  22,  1865.  Meanwhile  .he  had  been  in  command  of 
various  vessels  in  the  Gulf  Squadron,  taken  part  in  tin;  Hattle 
of  Mobile  Bay,  and  in  the  passage  of  Farragut's  fleet  up  the 
Mississippi  River  by  New  Orleans,  and  in  various  other  duties 


NEHEMIAH  MAYO  DVKR. 

until  the  close  of  the  war;  after  which   he  served  two  years  in 
the  Bureau  of  Navigation  at  Washington. 

Commissioned  Lieutenant  in  the  regular  navy,  March  12, 
1868,  and  ordered  to  dut\'  in  tiie  South  Pacific  Squadron. 
Commissioned  Lieutenant  Commander,  December  18,  1868. 
From  September  1869,  to  March  1870,  was  in  command  of  the 
*' Cyane,"  in  a  cruise  to  Sitka,  Alaska.  In  July,  1870,  while  on 
the  "  Ossipee,"  cruising  to  the  Lower  California  and  Mexican 
coasts,  a  hurricane  was  encountered, 

^  For  Ensign  Dyer's  account  of  this  transaction,  see  Melrose  Memo- 
rial pp.  228-31. 


250 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


which  left  the  sea  in  a  troubled  state,  and  in  the  morning  whilst 
making  sail  a  man  fell  overboard  from  main  topsail-yard,  the  halyards 
carrying  away  while  hoisting  top-sails.  Striking  in  main-chains  he 
was  knocked  senseless,  and  was  drifting  astern.  Dyer  was  taking  an 
observation  on  the  poop-deck,  and,  immediately  turning  a  bowline  in 
the  end  of  a  boat  fall,  jumped  into  the  sea" and  saved  the  man  from 
sharks  or  drowning.  For  this  he  was  publicly  thanked  by  Commodore 
W.  R.  Taylor,  Commander-in-Chief,  was  commended  by  the  Secre- 
tary of  the  Navy,  and  received  a  medal  from  the  Massachusetts 
Humane  Society.''^ 

Promoted  Commander  in  April,  1883;  commissioned  Captain 
July  13,  1897.  Ordered  to  the  Asiatic  Squadron  in  command 
first  of  the  "  Philadelphia,"  and  then  to  the  "  Baltimore,"  in 
which  he  took  the  memorable  part,  under  Admiral  Dewey,  in 
the  decisi\'e  Battle  of  Manila,  May  i, 
i8q8.  Left  the  "Baltimore,"  in  ill  health 
March,  1899,  ^"cl  was,  after  recovery,  as- 
signed to  duty  at  the  Boston  Nav}^  Yard, 
February  i,  1900.  A  little  more  than  a 
year  later,  February  19,  1901,  being  then 
at  the  age  limit,  he  was  pensioned  as 
Rear-Admiral,  on  half-pay.^ 

On  account  of  the  eminent  services 
rendered  by  Admiral  Dyer  in  the  many 
different  positions  filled  by  him,  various 
testimonials  have  been  gi\'en  him.  One, 
a  beautiful  watch,  duly  inscribed,  by  the 
Melrose  Club,  of  which  he  had  long  been 
an  honored  member.  Another,  a  mag- 
nificent sword  given  him  at  a  public 
banquet,  by  the  City  of  Baltimore  in 
recognition  of  his  services  as  commander 
of  the  noble  vessel  which  was  named  in 
honor  of  that  cit)'. 
When  the  war  was  declared,  Melrose  had  five  men  in  the 
Massachusetts  Naval  Brigade: 

Buttrick,  Charles  H.  Abercrombie,  John  J. 

Colby,  William  J.  Jones,  Lieut.  Gardner  L 

P.astman,  Harry  M. 


UYUK  SWORD. 


2  Me/rose:   Tozvn  and  City,  p.  84. 

^  For   further   details   as   to   the 
various  duties  aud    commands  of 


Admiral  Dyer,  from  the  close  of 
the  Civil  War  to  the  Manila  fight, 
see  Melrose:  Town  and  City,  pp. 
83-85. 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  251 

Mr.  Eastman  was  the  first  to  enlist,  April  5,  but  Mr.  Buttrick 
was  first  to  enter  the  actual  service,  which  he  did  April  10, 
being  then  ordered  to  Philadelphia,  when  he  was  appointed 
"Equipment  Yeoman"  on  the  U.  S.  S.  Lehigh,  afterwards 
transferred  to  the  U.  S.  S.  Wabash.  Mr.  Abercrombie  also 
served  with  him  on  the  same  vessel.  Discharged  September 
I,  1898.  Another  young  man  who  served  first  on  the  Wabash 
was  Charles  F.  Henderson,  who  enlisted  when  he  was  sixteen 
years  of  age  ;  was  on  different  vessels,  and  was  promoted  to 
a  second  class  apprenticeship,  assigned  to  the  U.  S.  S.  Indiana, 
and  took  part  in  the  destruction  of  Admiral  Cervera's  fleet, 
July  3,  1898. 

Mr.  Eastman  was  called  into  the  service  April  23,  entering 
the  regular  navy  April  28,  when  he  was  assigned  to  the  U.  S.  S. 
Prairie,  being  appointed  "Chief  Ship's  Yeoman."  The  Prairie 
was  the  flagship  of  the  blockading  squadron  off  Havana. 

With  Eastman  was  William  J.  Colby,  who  entered  the  ser- 
vice May  3,  served  through  the  war,  and  was  discharged  at  the 
same  time  as  was  Eastman. 

Lieutenant  Gardner  L  Jones  served  on  the  monitors  "Le- 
high "  and  "Jason,"  being  in  command  of  the  latter.  Concern- 
ing him.  Lieutenant  William  H.  Stayton,  who  had  charge  of 
the  patrol  work  off  Montauk  Point,  reported  to  his  command- 
ing officer  as  follows:  "Lieutenant  Jones  was  indefatigable  in 
his  efforts  to  relieve  the  sick  and  was  very  successful.  I  trust 
you  will  commend  him  for  his  zeal,  faithfulness  and  humanity." 
He  served  during  the  war.  Another  Melrose  boy,  John  Henry 
Higgins,  was  not  in  the  Spanish-American  War,  but  has  seen 
severe  service  in  China  and  the  Philippines.  He  enlisted  in 
Boston,  July  17,  1899,  was  soon  after  sent  to  the  Philippines, 
and  in  Co.  A,  ist  Marine  Batallion,  served  in  China  during 
1900.  He  helped  take  Tientsin,  was  one  of  the  first  to  enter 
Pekin,  and  is  still  in  service  in  the  Philippines. 

The  Spanish-American  War  was  of  short  duration;  and  upon 
the  return  of  the  Melrose  soldiers  and  sailors,  a  "  Public  Re- 
ception "  was  given  them  in  the  Town  Hall,  Tuesday  evening, 
November  22,  1898,  which  proved  to  be  an  occasion  of  very 
great  and  general  interest.  The  hall  was  appropriately 
decorated  for  the  event,  the  stars  and  stripes  largely  predomi- 
nating. Addresses  of  welcome  were  made  by  Charles  H. 
Adams    and    Mrs.    Mary  A.   Livermore.     War   reminiscences 


■252  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

were  given  by  Edwin  D.  Wooldridge  and  Major  Edward  J. 
■Gihon,  of  the  Sixth  Regiment,  to  which  many  of  our  Melrose 
men  belonged.  A  letter  from  Captain  N.  Mayo  Dyer,  then  at 
Manila,  was  read.  Resolutions  recognizing  the  services  of 
these  brave  young  men,  were  presented  by  Arthur  M.  Willis. 
•Music  was  furnished  by  the  Moorhouse  Orchestra.  The  pre- 
siding officer  was  Charles  M.  Cox,  chairman  of  the  reception 
•committee,  of  which  Charles  C.  Barry  was  treasurer. 

The  Army  Christian  Commission  was  early  organized  for 
the  moral  and  spiritual  benefit  of  the  ii6,000  young  men  that 
had  then  enlisted  in  the  service  for  the  Spanish-American  War. 
It  was  instrumental  in  equipping  tents  at  the  front  and  in  state 
camps,  with  reading  tables,  correspondence  facilities,  games 
and  amusements,  organ,  singing  books,  and  other  privileges — 
thus  furnishing  places  of  social  resort  and  religious  meetings 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  In  this  manner  a  very 
positive  and  spiritual  uplift  was  given  to  the  brave  boys  who 
had  taken  their  lives  in  their  hands  and  gone  forth  to  fight  the 
battles  of  the  United  States. 

The  Melrose  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Army  Christian  Commission  was 
organized  largely  by  the  efforts  of  Franklin  P.  Shumway; 
associated  with  him  on  the  committee  was  William  H.  Fland- 
ers, and  amass  meeting  was  held  in  the  City  Hall,  June  5,  1898, 
for  the  purpose  of  raising  money  for  this  object.  There  were 
musical  exercises,  and  addresses  by  Re\'.  Kdwin  C.  Bolles, 
D.  D.,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  and  the  Rev.  Thomas  Sims, 
D.  D.  The  amount  raised  was  $300,  which  was  paid  into  the 
treasury  and  acknowledged  as  follows: 

Boston,  June  7th,  1898. 
Mr.  F.  P.  Shumway. 

My  Dear  Sir  : — I  am  in  receipt  of  the  proceeds  of  the  mass  meet- 
ing in  the  town  hall,  Melrose,  last  Sunday  evening,  for  the  use  of  the 
Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  Army  Commission.  I  want,  through 
you,  to  thank  the  citizens  of  Melrose  for  their  interest  as  shown  by 
this  very  generous  contribution,  and  to  assure  them  that  it  is  more  than 
appreciated.  This  liberal  and  prompt  response  will  make  itself  felt  in 
other  communities,  and  I  know  of  no  work  that  will  mean  so  much  for 
the  moral  uplifting  of  our  boj's  at  the  front  or  fraught  with  such  results 
as  this.  Truly  yours, 

O.  H.  DuRRELL,  Chairman. 

Meanwhile  the  Melrose  Woman's  Auxiliary  of  the  Volunteer 


MILITARY  HISTORY.  25a 

Aid  Association  had  been  organized,  and  during  the  succeed- 
ing months  many  meetings  were  held  by  the  women  of 
Melrose;  some  at  the  Highlands,  and  some  in  the  parlors  of 
the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association,  where  a  large  variety 
of  articles  were  made  and  forwarded  to  the  front;  among  them 
two  hundred  and  six  hospital  shirts,  one  hundred  pajamas, 
seventy-two  abdominal  bands,  fifty  mosquito  canopies,  sheets,, 
comfort  bags,  bandages,  handkerchiefs,  towels  and  packages 
of  old  linen  and  other  articles.  Mrs.  Elizabeth  H.  Deering 
acted  as  treasurer,  and  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  secretary, 
who  received  the  following  letter  from  the  secretary  of  the 
association. 

Dear  Mrs.  Livermore  : 

Many  thanks  for  your  kind  letter  and  enclosure.  Thanks  to  the 
early  organization  of  the  work  on  clothing,  we  have  ample  supplies  in 
the  storehouse  for  any  demand  likely  to  be  made.  All  the  reports 
from  the  surgeon  general  and  from  the  surgeons  in  charge  of  the 
hospitals  are  that  delicacies  are  needed  for  the  sick.  Men  recovering 
from  climatic  troubles  and  fevers  cannot  use  the  army  rations,  and 
they  ask  for  delicacies.  So  I  hope  you  will  ask  your  people  to  direct 
their  attention  to  gathering  such  supplies.  The  enclosed  is  a  copy  of 
the  list  of  supplies  needed,  received  this  morning  from  the  surgeon 
general.  It  is  not  a  long  one:  jellies,  clam  juice,  cocoa,  sardines, 
condensed  milk,  extract  of  beef,  corn  starch,  concentrated  consomme 
(France  American  Co.),  saltine  crackers,  water  thin  crackers. 

Yours  respectfully, 

Elihu  B.  Haves. 

After  this  the  efforts  of  these  patriotic  women  were  given  to 
procuring  articles  suggested  by  the  above  letter,  rather  than 
gathering  clothing  and  other  articles  as  at  first;  and  in  this 
manner  much  other  valuable  assistance  in  this  good  work  was 
rendered. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

"  MILITARY  ORGANIZATIONS. 

US.  GRANT  POST  4,  G.  A.  R.,  Department  of  Massa- 
chusetts.     The  Grand  Army  of    the    Republic    was 
formed  in  i866,  soon  after  the  close  of  the  War  of  the 
Rebellion.     Its  object  and  purpose  was  set  forth   in  the  first 
official  report  of    the    then    Commander-in-Chief,  Gen.   B.   F. 
Stephenson: 

Early  in  the  spring  of  1866,  a  few  patriots,  deeply  feeling  the  impor- 
tance of  organizing  a  grand  association  of  the  gallant  Union  soldiers 
and  sailors  of  the  late  terrible  rebellion,  for  the  purpose  of  fostering 
fraternal  relations  and  keeping  alive  the  zeal  of  patriotism  and  devo- 
tion to  our  country,  and  above  all,  for  the  purpose  of  mutual  support 
and  assistance  in  clothing  the  naked,  feeding  the  hungry  and  furnish- 
ing employment  to  destitute,  sick  and  wounded  comrades,  and  caring 
for  the  widows  and  oq^hans  of  the  gallant  dead,  forming  their  plans, 
and  publicly  calling  on  all  interested,  on  the  13th  day  of  July,  1866, 
met  in  convention  in  the  representative  hall  at  the  State  Capitol  at 
Springfield,  Illinois,  and  then  and  there,  formed  the  nucleus  of  the 
grand  organization  here  represented  in  convention,  and  which  from 
that  humble  origin  now  extends  an  influence  of  great  power  through- 
out nearly  every  state  and  territory  in  ovir  country. 

Soon  after  the  organization  was  formed,  February  19,  1867, 
the  surviving  soldiers  and  sailors  then  living  in  Melrose,  those 
that  served  on  her  quotas,  and  those  that  became  citizens  after 
the  war,  formed  a  Post,  being  the  fourth  one  organized,  and 
named  it  after  Gen.  Grant. ^  It  was  the  onh^  one  that  bore  his 
name  during  his  lifetime;  others  have  been  named  after  him 
since  his  death.  Soon  after  this  Post  was  named,  Congress 
passed  a  law  that  no  Posts  should  be  named  after  li\'ing  sol- 

^  "  We  have  a  Grand  Army  Post,  whose   valor    and   endurance    pre. 

keeping  green  the  memory  of  the  served  to  you  the  blessing  of  liberty 

patriot  dead,  and  pointing  annually  and    union."       George    F.     Stone, 

to  the   increasing   and   ever   to  be  address  at  Dedication  of  Town  Hall, 

honored  roll,  saying,  these  are  they  June  17,  1874.     MSS. 


MILITARY  ORGANIZATIONS.  255 

diers.  The  Post  is  the  happy  possessor  of  his  autograph,  in  a 
letter  signed  by  him  less  than  three  months  before  he  died,  at 
Mt.  Gregor,  July  23,  1885;-  and  it  was  in  answer  to  the  follow- 
ing letter  of  sympathy  and  condolence  sent  by  the  Post. 

Headquarters  U.  S.  Grant  Post  4,  G.  A.  R. 

Department  of  Massachusetts. 

Melrose,  April  7,  1885. 
Hono7-ed  and  Estcc7ncd  Co7)iradc : 

Permit  us,  the  Post  of  the  G.  A.  R.,  bearing  your  honored  name  to 

send  you  this  brief  note  in  assurance  of  our  deep  and  sincere  sympathy 

with  you  in  this  time  of  your  great  trial  and  suffering.     Recognizing 

as  every  American  must,  your  just  desert  of  all  the  heartfelt  interest 

now  felt  in  your  condition,  and  feeling  that  your  comrades  in  arms, 

who  under  you  were  enabled  to  save  the  Union  from  disruption,  have 

still  greater  reason  than  all  others  to  appreciate  your  great  services  to 

the  country.     As  also  to  sorrow  with  you  in  your  grief  and  trials,  we 

offer  you  our  sincere  condolence  in  this  hour,  and  the  assurance  of  our 

prayers  that  the  God  who  has  held  and  kept  you  as  in  the  hollow  of 

His  hand  during  the  days  of  your  strength,  will  now  make  you  to  feel 

that  the  everlasting  arms  are  under  you  and  will  keep  you  and  bless 

you  forever.  Yours  in  F.  C.  and  L. 

Edwin  C.  Gould,  Com. 

Gilbert  N.  Harris,  Adj't. 

To  Gen.  U.  S.  Grant,  New   Vo?-k. 
To  this  sympathetic  letter.  Gen.  Grant  replied  as  follows: 

New  York,  April  29th,  1885. 
Dear  Sir.— The  resolutions  of  sympathy  of  your  Post  are  received. 
Now  that  I  am  better  I  wish  to  acknowledge  the  same  and  to  express 
my  appreciation  of  the  action. 

Very  truly  yours, 


To  Comi7iandcr  U.  S.  G/-ant  Post,  A^o.  4,  Me/rose,  Mass. 

Soon  after  this  correspondence,  the  Great  Commander  and 

"^  This  was  the  last  time  but  one       name;  so  says  his  son,  Col.  Fred- 
that   Gen.    Grant   ever   signed    his       erick  D.  Grant. 


256  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Ex-President  died.  The  Nation  mourned  his  loss.  Melrose 
recognized  the  solemn  event  in  "Services  at  the  Town  Hall^ 
Melrose,  August  8,  1885,  under  the  auspices  of  the  Selectmen, 
in  Memory  of  General  Ulysses  S.  Grant;"  on  which  occasion 
addresses  were  made  by  Hon.  Levi  S.  Gould,  Chairman  of  the 
Board,  Hon.  Daniel  W.  Gooch,  Rev.  Richard  Eddy  D.  D., 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  Col.  Francis  S.  Hesseltine,  Col. 
Samuel  Adams  Drake,  and  Rev.  John  G.  Taylor.  Among  the 
other  exercises,  the  following  hymn,  written  by  Dr.  Julius  S. 
Clark,  was  recited  by  Miss  Louie  H.  Orcutt: 

MUSTERED  OUT— MUvSTERED  IN. 

To  U.  S.  Grant  Post  No.  4,  Department  of 
Afassachiisetts,  G.  A.  R. 

Hallowed  hence  in  Mt.  McGregor, 

Pilgrim's  consecrated  goal  ; 
Vernon  of  the  country's  Saviour, 

Mecca  of  the  patriot  soul. 

Like  an  incense  heaven  ascending 

Up  from  hamlet,  mart,  and  mead. 
Anguished  hearts  in  pathos  Vjlending, 

Sanctify  the  Nation's  dead. 

Strew  your  path  with  morning  cypress, 
Join  the  march  with  measured  tread  ; 

Nobler  far  than  Greek  Ulysses, 
Grant,  Columbia's  own,  is  dead. 

Comrades  of  the  Grand  Republic  ! 

Gray-haired  men,  once  boys  in  blue. 
White-winged  Peace  holds  yon  Potomac, 

Grant  joins  in  the  Grand  Review. 

Mustered  out  by  Orders  General, 

From  the  ranks  of  flesh  and  pain  ; 
Present  at  the  Call  Eternal, 

Grant  is  mustered  in  again. 

Great  Commander  !   God  of  Goodness  ! 

Subjects  we  of  sovereign  will, 
Trusting  to  undying  mercies: 

Grant  is  at  Headquarters,  still. 

A  pleasant  event  in   the  history  of    this  organization   took 
place    July   6,   1886,    when    a    very    handsome  "  Grand   Army 


MILITARY  ORGANIZATIONS. 


Ibl 


Memorial   Record,"  bound  in   full  Turke)'  morocco,  was  pre- 
sented to  the  Post,  bearint^r  the  follo\vin<4-  inscription: 

Memorial  Record,  Presented  to  l^  S.  (]rant  Post,  No.  4,  Depart- 
ment of  Massachusetts,  by  Joseph  D.  Wilde,  Nathaniel  P.  Jones, 
Daniel  W.  Gooch,  Samuel  E.  Sewall,  Elbridge  H.  Goss,  Albert  D, 
Holmes,  Sidney  H.  Buttrick,  Daniel  Russell  Charles  H.  Isburgh, 
George  L.  Morse,  John  W.  Farwell.  John  Larrabee.  1886.  Grand 
Army  of  the  Republic. 

The  presentation  speech  was  made  by  the  late  Hon.  Daniel 
\V.  Gooch,  duly  responded  to  by  the  then  Commander  P>dwin 
C.  Gould.  The  \'olume  contains  an  elaborate  heading  on  every 
page,  comprising-  the  Grand  Arm}'  badge,  with  the  words:  "In 
Memoriam.  The  last  enem\-  that  shall  be  destroyed  is  Death." 
Each  page  contains  two  columns;  one  for  each  Comrade's  war 
history,  the  other,  resolutions  passed  by  the  Post. 

The  Post  is  ofificered  at  the  present  time 
as  follows  :  Commander,  P^rank  T.  Palmer; 
Senior  Vice  Commander,  Louis  A.  Young; 
Junior  Vice  Commander,  Albert  A.  Carlton; 
Adjutant,  Charles  A.  Patch;  Quartermaster, 
Alfred  Hocking;  Surgeon,  Edwin  P.Holmes; 
Chaplain,  John  E.  Marshall;  Ofificer  of  the 
Day,  Horatio  S.  Libby;  Ofificer  of  the  Guard, 
John  S.   Larrabee  ;  Sergeant  Major,  Corne- 


lius  Casey;  Quartermaster  Sergeant, Thomas     *.^?*=^^^'-%i:J_i-^ 
J.  Munn.  ^f 

Present  number  of  members,  eighty.    Oni)-  ^ 

fourteen  of  these  were    citizens  of  Melrose         ^-  ^-  ^*-  "■^^^^• 
during  the  war,  serving  on  her  \arious  quotas.     All  the  others 
ha\e    become  residents  since  that  era. 

P^or  many  years  the  Town,  at  its  annual  March  meeting, 
made  an  appropriation  of  $200  "for  keeping  in  repair  and  dec- 
orating the  graves  of  soldiers  and  sailors  on  Memorial  Day;" 
and  this  custom"  has  been  continued  by  the  city  administration. 
This  amount  has  always  been  expended  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Post.  P^ach  year,  on  that  day,  the  members  of  the  U.  S. 
Grant  Post  4,  and  William  F.  Barry  Camp  79,  Sons  of  Veter- 
ans, accompanied  by  barges  for  the  members  of  the  Woman's 
Relief  Corps,  march  in  procession,  with  appropriate  music, 
from  the  G.  A.  R.  Mall  on  Main  Street,  to  the  Wyoming  Ceme- 
tery.    There,  after  ser\-ices,  at  a  given  signal,  the  graves  of  all 


258  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

those  who  have  "marched  on"— ever  increasing  in  number  3^ear 
by  year — are  strewn  with  flowers.  A  miniature  flag  is  placed 
at  each  grave,  which  has  now  a  standard  marker.  On  the  last 
Memorial  Day,  May  30,  1902,  one  hundred  and  thirty-one 
graves  were  thus  decorated;  four  of  which  were  those  of  Revo- 
lutionary heroes,  William  Emerson,  Asa  Hart,  John  Edmunds 
and  William  Upham,  two  of  those  who  fought  in  the  war  of 
1812,  Thomas  Brintnall  and  J.  S.  Francis,  and  one  ci\-il  war 
nurse.  Miss  C.  M.  Kimball. 

On  the  evening  of  that  day,  for  many  years,  public  com- 
memorative services  were  held  in  the  city  hall,  with  music, 
vocal  and  instrumental,  and  a  eulogy  by  some  townsman,  or 
orator  from  abroad.  For  the  past  three  years  these  services 
have  been  omitted;  but  on  the  Sunday  previous  to  Memorial 
Day  it  is  the  custom  of  some  one  of  the  pastors  of  the  local 
churches,  to  invite  the  Post  and  Camp  to  be  present,  when  a 
sermon  appropriate  to  the  occasion  is  delivered. 

Closely  connected  with  the  history  of  this  Post,  is  the 
action  taken  at  the  Annual  Meeting,  March  .ig,  1895,  i"  behalf 
of  a  number  of  the  veteran  soldiers  who  served  on  the  quota 
of  Melrose,  relative  to  the  bounty  \-oted  them  May  6,  1861,  as 
follows:     It  was 

Voted,  that  the  sum  of  $15.00  per  month  be  paid  to  those  persons 
having  families,  and  the  sum  of  #10.00  per  month  to  those  who  were 
single  men,  during  their  term  of  service  in  the  war. 

There  was  paid  to  those  who  enlisted  the  sum  of  about 
$18,000;  but  there  were  many  who  did  not  apply  for  this 
bounty  until  many  years  afterwards  when  it  was  found  that 
the  town  records  had  been  destroyed  by  the  fire  of  August 
20,  1870.  After  more  or  less  agitation  the  following  committee 
was  appointed  at  the  above  meeting,  to  consider  the  subject 
and  report  at  the  November  meeting:  William  P2.  Barrett, 
John  Larrabee,  John  E.  Marshall,  Alfred  Hocking,  Frank  E. 
Orcutt,  Francis  S.  Hesseltine,  Charles  C.  Barry,  Joseph  W. 
Spaulding,  Stephen  F.  Keyes  and  Frank  H.  Merrill. 

This  committee  reported  the  total  amount  due  as  per  abo\-e 
vote  of  the  Town,  May  6,  1861,  as  aggregating  $44,739.49.  Of 
this,  the  sum  of  $18,114.50  had  been  paid,  leaving  still  unpaid 
a  balance  of  $27,459.16;  and  recommended  that  application  be 
made  to  the  Legislature  by  the  Selectmen,  for  an  act  to  be 
passed  authorizing  the  State  to  pay  the  whole  or  a  part  of  said 


MILITARY  ORGANIZATIONS. 


259 


balance,  as  had  been  done  in  other  cases  of  a  simihir  nature. 
This  was  successfully  done.  A  resolve  for  the  relief  of  the 
ve  erans  was  enacted,  and  the  sum  of  $8,391.17  was  voted  for 
the  twent}'-two  veterans,  or  their  lethal  heirs,  by  the  following: 

Resolved,  That  there  be  paid  out  of  the  treasury  of  the  Common- 
wealth to  the  following  named  persons,  or  their  heirs  or  legal  repre- 
sentatives, the  sums  placed  after  their  names  respectively ;  said  per- 
sons being  veterans  or  heirs  or  legal  representatives  of  veterans  who 
served  in  the  United  States  army  in  the  war  for  the  suppression  of  the 
rebellion  to  the  credit  of  the  town  of  Melrose,  the  within  claim  arising 
from  a  vote  of  said  town  passed  on  the  sixth  day  of  May,  eighteen 
hundred  and  sixty-one. 

This  gave  to  them  the  amounts  originally  voted  by  the  Town, 
without  interest;  nevertheless  the  amounts  were  welcomed  by 
the  beneficiaries,  which  were  as  follows: 

Andrews,  Edwin  A.,  Coiporal  in  Second  Massachusetts 
Battery,  

Barron,  Henr}',  \\'agoner  in  Twenty-second  Massachusetts 
Regiment,  by  Elizabeth  J.  Barron  and  Bertha  M.  Arm- 
strong, heirs  at  law, 

Batchelder,  George  W.,  Sergeant  Twentj'-second  Regiment, 
by  Eldora  Batchelder  and  William  B.  Batchelder,  heirs 
at  law, 

Chandler,  Roswell  W.,  First  Massachusetts  Cavalry,  by 
Abbie  A.  Chandler,  Frank  A.  Chandler,  Herbert  W 
Chandler  and  Henry  I.  Chandler,  heirs  at  law,     . 

Ellis,  Jacob  M.,  Lieutenant  in  Second  Battery,     . 

Grover,  John  C,  Seventeenth  Regiment, 

Jones,  Henry  H.,  Corporal  in  Thirteenth  Regiment,    . 

Littlefield,  Cushing  \V.,  Twenty-fourth  Regiment, 

Lynde,  Sherman,  Corporal  in  First  Cavalry, 

Macey,  James,  Thirteenth  Regiment,    .... 

Morse,  George  J.,  Thirteenth  Regiment,  by  Horace  E. 
Morse,  heir  at  law, 

Munn,  Thomas  J.,  Thirteenth  Regiment, 

Peabody,  Torrey,  Jr.,  Seventeenth  Regiment, 

Pratt,  Daniel  S.,  First  Cavalry, 

Shelton,  Albert  F.,  Thirteenth  Regiment, 

Simonds,  Joseph  R.,  Captain    Seventeenth   Regiment,  by 
Hannah  G.  Simonds,  heir  at  law 

Sprague,  Samuel,  Jr.,  Twelfth  Regiment,  Corporal,     . 

Stantial,  Thomas  B.,  Artificer  Fifth  Battery, 

Stilphen,  John  E.,  Second  Battery,  by  Sarah  E.  Stilphen, 

Eva  Y.  Crosby  and  Florence  A.  Lawrence,  heirs  at  law,         564.00 


^360.00 


547-50 


434.00 


I  So. 00 

457-5° 
356.00 
360.00 
186.00 
558.00 
363.00 

535-00 
360.00 
532-50 
360.00 
I  79.00 

540.00 
372.00 
149.00 


260  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Tainter,  George  A.,  Thirteenth  Regiment $310.00 

Whitney,  Edward  H.,  Sergeant  Thirteenth  Regiment,  .  361.00 

Wyman,  Wilham,  Twenty-fourth  Regiment,  .         .         .         326.67 

Total, $8,391.17 

By  some  oversight  a  few  names  of  \'eterans  were  omitted 
from  the  list  given  by  the  act  to  whom  the  bounty  rio-htfully 
belonged;  among  them  the  late  F.  Edward  Howe,  William  H. 
Eastman,  and  perhaps  others. 

U.  S.  Grant  Woman's  Relief  Corps,  No.  16,  Auxiliary 
TO  U.  S.  Grant  Post  4,  G.  A.  R,  This  body  of  women,  the 
wives  and  daughter.s  of  the  war  veterans,  was  organized  January 
6,  1881.  Present  membership  eighty-six.  It  is  officered  as 
follows:  President,  Senior  Vice  President,  Junior  Vice  President, 
Secretary,  Treasurer,  Chaplain,  Conductor,  Guard,  Assistant 
Conductor,  Assistant  Guard,  First  Color  Bearer,  Second,  Third, 
Fourth,  and  Pianist. 

William  Francis  Barry  Camp,  No.  79,  Sons  of  Veterans. 
This  was  organized  May  27,  1887,  and  was  named  after  one  of 
the  youngest  of  the  "Boys  in  Blue,"  that  went  from  Melrose, 
and  who  was  killed  at  the  "Battle  of  Antietam,  September,  17, 
1862.  He  was  a  brother  of  Royal  P.  and  Charles  C.  Barr\'. 
The  Camp  now  numbers  forty-seven  members,  and  has  officers 
as  follows:  Captain,  First  Lieutenant,  Second  Lieutenant, 
Chaplain,  First  Sergeant,  Second  Sergeant,  Color  Sergeant, 
and  Musician. 

The  Ladies'  Aid  Society,  No.  23,  auxiliary  to  William 
Francis  Barry  Camp,  No.  79,  was  organized  May  9,  1893.  It 
has  twenty-one  members,  and  has  officers  as  follows:  President, 
Vice  President,  Past  President,  Chaplain,  Secretary,  Treasurer, 
Guide,  .^nd  Judge  Advocate. 

Soldiers'  Memorial.  The  Town  of  Melrose  has  recognized 
the  services  of  her  citizen  soldiers  in  the  Civil  War,  by  the 
purchasing  of  two  hundred  and  twenty-six  copies  of  the 
Melrose  Memorial,  and  giving  a  cop\'  to  each  one  that  served  on 
her  quota  j'^  and,  also,  by  the  placing  of  an   "American   Flag 

^  At  a  Town  Meeting  held  Nov.  "  That  the  Selectiiieu  be  authorized 

3,  1868,  Hou.  Samuel  E.  Sewall  of-  to  subscribe  aud  pay  for  a  sufficient 

fered     the     following     resolution,  number  of  copies  of  Mr.  Elbridge 

which   was   unanimously  adopted:  H.  Goss'   work,  entitled,   T/ie  Mel- 


MILITARY  ORGANIZATIONS. 


261 


Window,"  in  "memory  of  those  soldiers  who  gave  their  h'ves 
for  their  countr3^"  in  the  new  Baptist  Church  on  Franklin 
Street,  at  the  Highlands,  in  1895. 

Several  efforts  have  been  made  by  our  citizens,  at  different 
times,  looking  towards  the  erection  of  a  Monument,  Memorial 
Hall.  Tablets  in  the  Town  Hall,  or  in  some  other  way  recognize 
the  war  record  of  our  "  Boys  in  Blue."  One  was  March  i, *i886, 
when  Dr.  Julius  S.  Clark  offered  a  series  of  resolutions,  which 
Avere  unanimously  adopted. 

No  further  action  was  taken  by  the  town  at  this  time. 

Again  in  1896.  a  committee  of  fifteen  from  the  U.  S.  Grant 
Post  4,  G.  A.  R.,  was  appointed  to  take  into  consideration  the 
erection  of  a  Memorial  Hall.  This  committee  asked  for  the 
cooperation  of  all  the  Churches,  Masons,  Odd  Fellows,  and 
other  societies.  These  bodies  appointed  committees  to  repre- 
sent them,  and  a  number  of  meetings  and  consultations  took 
place  in  the  G.  A.  R.  Hall.  It  was  then  thought  that  a  site  for 
such  a  hall  on  the  old  Village  Cemetery  land,  then  disused, 
might  be  voted  by  the  Town.  When  it  was  found  that  the 
school-house  building  committee  had  pre-empted  the  whole 
lot  for  the  High  School  structure,  all  further  effort  ceased. 

It  IS  hoped  that  the  day  will  come  when  something  more 
will  be  done  to  honor  our  soldiers  and  sailors,  and  their  ser- 

\\CQS. 

This  sentence  was  written  in  1899.  May  6,  1901,  a  commu- 
nication to  the  Board  of  Aldermen  was  received  from  His 
Honor,  Mayor  Larrabee,  enclosing  a  letter  from  the  U.  S. 
Grant  Post  4,  G.  A.  R.,  relative  to  a  proposed  soldiers'  and 
sailors'  monument  to  be  erected  on  the  "Soldiers'  Lot"  in 
Wyoming  Cemetery,  suggesting  that  a  committee  from  the 
Board  of  Aldermen  be  appointed  to  meet  a  committee  of  the 
Post,  and  the  Cemetery  Committee,  to  take  the  matter    into 

rose  Memorial:  The  Annals  of 
Melrose,  County  of  Middlesex,  Mas- 
saelmsetls,  duriuiy  the  Great  Rebel- 
lion of  1861-65,  to  furuish  a  copy  to 
every  inhabitant  of  this  town  who 
served  as  a  soldier  or  sailor  in  the 
Rebellion,  now  livin<r,  and  a  copy 
to  the  family  of  each  of  said  soldiers 
and  sailors  as  have  deceased  ;  also 
for  twenty-five  additional  copies  for 
the    town,    any    of    which    may    be 


given  to  public  libraries  at  the 
di.scretion  of  the  Selectmen." 

And  on  motion  of  Hon.  Daniel 
W.  Cioocli,  it  was  voted  that  the 
following  inscription  be  embossed 
in  gilt  letters  on  the  cover  of  each 
copy  thus  given  : 

Presented  to  — (name  of  soldier 
or  sailor)— by  the  Town  of  Melrose, 
in  recognition  of  liis  services  during 
the  Great  Rebellion  of  1861-5. 


^HV2  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

oonsiiiciation  and  roinnt.  l-'axorahlc  action  was  taken,  and 
rrrsidrnt  Kohinson  appointed  the  following  ci>niniittee:  Aldii- 
nien  Marshall,  Tasje,  Goss,  Day  and  Harlon.  llu-  nuinhc  is  of 
tin-  oihei  eonmiittees  wiTe  as  foIKnvs:  (.ieoii^e  V.  Marsh,  Al- 
(rrd  lliH-kini;  and  1^'rank  T.  Talnier  of  the  Tost,  .ind  l«^lin  V. 
l)eejiii!4.  C">siMr  1'".  h'rost  and  1  .  Ilciiix  Kniihardl.  C'emelcry 
Committee.  ThriMioh  the  kimhu-ss  of  Won.  John  IX  loni^j, 
Secretary  of  the  N.ny,  .lidetl  In'  Kepresentat i\e  I'jnest  W. 
Roberts,  the  Tost  snecieihil  in  oht.iinini;  from  the  I'nited 
States  Ciovernment.  the  jierm.ment  Kian  of  three  thirtx-pound 
r.irrott  s^nns.  .nui  twelve  twehe-inoh  shells. 

With  this  ni.iterial  .1  haiulsonu-  design  for  .1  monument,  with 
i^r.mite  h.isi-,  was  submitted  to  and  adopted  by  the  united  com- 
mittees at  a  meetini;  ludil  Ma\  \.^,  and  by  .i  nn.inimons  V(^ti\ 
the  Aldermanic  COmmittiH-  was  ic-ipu-sti-d  \o  \c\Mn\  [o  the 
Hoard  of  Aldermen,  a  recommendation  that  the  desi!.][n  be 
aiiopti  d.  and  an  appropriation  of  $750  be  asked  for.  w  ith  w  hich 
to  ]Mep.ue  a  suitable  lonndation  on  said  "Soldiers'  l.ot.".uid 
that  tlu-  monument  be  erecteil  thereon.  This  committee-  re- 
j-torlml  to  the  Hoard  of  AldiMnien,  aiui  at  a  meetiui^  held  June 
;,  iijoi,  tliis  sum  of  5750  was  unanimously  .ii^jMopriateil.  by  the 
follow  ini;  \  ote: 

That  for  the  pmposo  of  eonmienioratino-  the  deeds  of  valor  and  self 
sacritiee  of  those  who  so  unselti.shly  pive  their  hves  or  rendered  loyal 
service  for  their  country  in  the  dark  days  of  the  Rebellion,  it  is  hereby 
ordered  th.u  a  nioniinient.  substantially  in  accordance  with  a  plan 
numbered  i.as  submitted  by  I".  S.  Ciranl  Tost  No.  4.  G.  .\.  R..  be 
erected  on  the  Soldiers'  Lot  in  Wyoming  Cemetery,  and  that  the  sum 
of  seven  hundred  and  tifty  dollars  (#750)  be  and  is  hereby  appropri- 
ated to  pay  for  the  cost  and  the  erection  of  said  monument,  and  for 
.!;radinji  the  lot  thereof:  the  wi^k  to  be  done  under  the  direction  of 
His  Honor  the  Mayor. 

(.>rdered  further  that  in  order  to  provide  for  the  foregoini;  .appropri- 
ation tlie  City  Treasurer  is  hereby  authorized  and  directed  to  borrow 
the  smu  of  seven  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  ($750)  and  issue  the  note  or 
notes  of  the  City  therefor,  payable  within  one  year  from  date  of  issue, 
with  interest  not  exceeding-  four  {4)  per  cent,  per  annum. 

This  design  as  adopted  w.is  made  b\-  \"irgil  W".  b\dler,  upon 
the  basis  of  .1  S^fO  appropriat ic>n.  \\  hen  lie  learned  that  the 
.imount  appropriated  was  5750.  he  submitteil  a  new  and  more 
elaborate  design,  which  was  the  one  fin.dly  adopted  at  a 
meeting  of  the  \arious  committees,  with    His   Honor.   Maxor 


MILITARY  ORGANIZATIONS. 


203 


Larrabee,  in  his  office,  August  7,  1901.  Under  his  direction, 
bids  were  solicited,  the  contract  awarded  to  Joss  Brothers 
Company  of  Ouinc>',  the  lowest  bidder,  and  the  monument 
erected. 

The  base  is  of    Quincy  granite,  and  bears  the  date  of  the 
Great   Rebellion,  "1861-65."     There    is    no    other  inscription. 


SOLDIERS'  MONUMENT. 

The  three  Parrott  Rifles,  which  form  so  unique  a  part  of  the 
monument,  ha\e  a  histor\'  closely  connected  with  the  war; 
one  being  in  use  on  the  U.  S.  S.  "Sophronia,"  in  the  Potomac 
flotilla,  one  on  the  U.  S.  S.  "luka,"  and  one  on  the  U.  S.  S. 
"Trefoil."  They  weigh  respectively  3,510,  3,500  and  3,490 
pounds;  a  total  of  10,450  pounds.  An  account  of  the  dedica- 
tory services  is  given  under  "Old  Home  Week"  observances. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

FIRST  AND  LAST  TOWN  MEETINGS. 

MELROSE  was  incorporated  May  3,  1850.  The  first  war- 
rant for  a  Town  Meeting,  dated  May  6,  1850,  was 
issued  by  Elbridge  Green,  Esq.,  Justice  of  the  Peace, 
and  was  directed  to  Jonathan  Cochran,  Esq.,  another  Justice  of 
the  Peace. 

The  inhabitants  qualified  to  \'ote  in  elections  and  town 
affairs,  were  warned  to  assemble  on  May  10,  1850,  in  Acadeni}^ 
Hall,  which  stood  upon  land  which  now  forms  the  northeast 
corner  of  Grove  and  Berwick  Streets.  Sometime  before  the 
year  1857,  this  building"  was  mo\'ed  to  Main  Street,  nearly 
opposite  the  present  Post  Office,  became  known  as  Lyceum 
Hall,  and  was  destro}'ed  in  the  destructive  fire  which  occurred 
August  20,  1870,  six  days  only  before  the  Spot  Pond  water 
system  was  ready  for  use.  This  building  had  been  extensively 
used  for  town  purposes,  and  its  destruction  \'ery  essentially 
hastened  the  erection  of  our  present  City  Hall. 

This  warrant  had  two  articles,  \'iz.:  "To  choose  a  Moderator; 
to  choose  all  necessar)'  Town  C)fficers  for  the  \'ear  ensuing." 
The  following  officers  were  chosen: 

Henry  Sprague,  Moderator;  Elbridge  Green,  Town  Clerk; 
Jeremiah  Martin,  Isaac  P^merson,  Jr.,  Artcmas  Barrett,  .Select- 
men; Aaron  Green,  Shubael  L.Taylor,  William  J.  Farnsworth, 
Assessors;  Isaac  Emerson,  Treasurer  and  Collector;  Plenry  A. 
Norris,  Caleb  Howard,  PLlbridge  Green.  School  Committee; 
James  Howard,  Highwa}'  Sur\-eyor. 

The  salaries  then  \'oted  were  as  follows: 

Town  Clerk,  eight  dollars  per  annum;  in  1854,  increased  to 
^10;  Selectmen,  four  dollars  each,  ])er  annum;  in  1854  in- 
creased to  $8;  Assessors,  Si. 25  per  day,  each  man  ;  in  1854 
increased  to  $1.50;  Collector,  at  first  as  determined  by  the 
Selectmen;  then  in  1854,  it  was  made  $25  per  annum. 

The  first  annual   rept)rt  is  something  of  a  curiosit}';  being  a 


FIRST  AND  LAST  TOWN  MEETINGS. 


265 


bro a d  s  i  cl  c  i  o  x  1 2  i  ii  c  h  c  s .  1 1  i  s  h  ea d  e d ,  Report  of  the  Financial 
Concerns  \  of  the  \  Town  of  Melrose,  \  From  May  20,  1830,  to  April 
/.  iSji,  and  is  sioned  by  Jonathan  Cochran,  Josiah  W.  Talbot 
■and  John  Blake,  Financial  Committee.  A  few  of  the  items  on 
this  first  report  are  worthy  of  note.  It  was  the  day  of  small 
things  and  small  expenses  when  compared  with  our  present 
labors  and  outlays. 

Jeremiah  Martin,  for  Serv.  as  Selectman,  $4— Running  town 
lines,  $10— Examining  Dix  Pond,  Railing  and  Culverts,  S2— 
Cash  paid  for  Printing,  S14.25— Laying  out  Streets,  $12— 
Letting  and  Superintending  Vinton  Street,  $4— Cash  paid 
for  Jury  Box,  and  for  Stationery,  $5.90,  .  .  .  .552.15 
Isaac  Emerson,  Jr.,  Services  as  Selectman,  etc.,  .         .         .    34.88 

Artemas  Barrett,  Services  as  Selectman,  etc.,  ....  32.00 
Elbridge  Green,  for  Services  as  Town  Clerk,  Express  Bills,  etc.,  9.50 
Isaac  Emerson,  for  Services  as  Treasurer,  and  for  Blank  Book,    $9.13 

Caleb  Howard  and  Elbridge  Green  School  Committee,  were 
paid  $10,  and  $12,  respectively. 

Shubael  L.  Taylor,  Aaron  Green,  and  William  J.  Farnsworth, 
Assessors,  were  paid  respectively,  S13.75,  S15,  and  S17.25. 

The  second  annual  report,  from  April  i,  i85i,to  March  24, 
1852,  formed  quite  a  contrast  to  the  first,  being  a  pamphlet  of 
sixteen  pages.  From  year  to  year  the  annual  report  of  the 
affairs  of  our  city  has  been  increasing  in  size,  until  for  the 
year  1902,  it  took  a  volume  of  four  hundred  and  forty-two 
pages. 

The  number  of  legal  town  meetings  that  have  been  held  to 
January  i,  1900,  is  two  hundred  and  fifteen,  and  there  has  been 
one  hundred  and  five  adjourned  meetings.  They  have  been 
held  in  the  following  places: 

Vestry  of  Protestant  Methodist  Church,  .  .        i 

Congregational  Meeting  House,     . 

Engine  Hall, 

Academy,  or  Town  Hall, 
Vestry  of  Universalist  Church, 
Concert,  or  Good  Templars'  Hall, 

Unity  Hall 

Lyceum  J I  all, 

and  after  the  Town  Hall  was  erected   m    1873.  all  Town^Meet- 
ings  were  held  therein. 


2 

28 

20 
22 
I  I 
56 


266 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


The  family  of  the  late  D.  Alvin  Lynde,  who  died  February 
23,  1899,  is  the  possessor  of  a  broadside  report  showing- 
Expenses  \  of  the  Tozvn  of  Maiden,  \  for  one  Year,  ending  April  ist, 
1826.  One  or  two  items  of  interest  may  be  mentioned.  The 
amount  raised  for  the  public  schools  for  the  whole  town  was 
Si, 200.  Isaac  Emerson  of  the  North  End,  was  one  of  the 
Selectmen,  also  an  Assessor;  and  he  received  S17.50  for  his 
services.  James  Crane,  as  Town  Treasurer,  received  $10; 
and  instead  of  there  being  a  town  debt,  the  committee,  Charles 
Hill  and  Gilbert  Haven,  reported  a  "  Balance  in  favor  of  the 
Town,  $1,336.67."  Mr.  Lynde  also  owned  an  Annual  Report  \  of 
the  I  Financial  Concerns  \  of  the  \  Toivn  of  Maiden  \  Mch.  /,  1S44, 
six  years  before  the  incorporation  of  Melrose,  when  George 
Emerson  of  the  North  End,  was  one  of  the  Selectmen,  and 
several  other  names  of  citizens  of  the  same  section  appear 
therein.  That  year  $2,000  was  the  "Town  Grant"  for 
schools,  of  which  sum  $475.09  was  spent  for  the  "  North 
District  School."  This  report  also  shows  a  balance  in  favor  of 
the  Town,  of  $790.46. 

The  Last  Town  Meeting.     The  last  of  the  long  series  of 
Town   Meetings  for  the  Town  of  Melrose,  was  held  in  Town 


The  last  board  of  selectmen. 


FIRST  AND  LAST  TOWN  MEETINGS. 


267 


Hall,  on  Thursday  evening,  November  9,  1899.  I-e\i  S.  Gould 
was  chosen  Moderator,  it  being  the  one  hundred  and  eighth 
regularly  called  meeting  over  which  he  had  been  elected  to 
preside;  and  he  had  also  served  as  Moderator  of  one  hundred 
and  seven  adjourned  meetings;  a  total  of  two  hundred  and 
fifteen  meetings.  It  is  very  doubtful  if  such  another  record  of 
long  service  as  Moderator  of  Town  Meetings,  can  be  instanced 
in  New  England  or  elsewhere. 

The  warrant  for  this   meeting  was  dated   November    I,  and 
was  issued  and  signed  b\'  the  following  oflficers. 
/ 


FACSIMILK  SIGNATURES  FROM  THE  LAST  TOWN   WARRANT. 

A  True  Copy.     Attest : 

William  L.  Pierce,  Constable. 

The  warrant  consisted  of  eleven  articles,  most  of  which  were 
acted  upon  favorably:  The  sum  of  $200  was  appropriated  for 
the  use  of  the  Board  of  Health,  and  $1,500  for  the  purpose  of 
making  necessary  alterations  and  repairs  for  use  of  the  incom- 
ing City  Government;  two  items  of  taxes  which  had  been 
illegally  assessed  were  refunded;  certain  main  drains  or  com- 
mon sewers  accepted  as  specified  by  the  Sewer  Commissioners; 
and  to  see  if  the  citizens  would  \-ote  to  submit  Chapter  344, 
Acts  of  1S99,  to  the  first  city  election  in  December,  and  which 
authorized  the  adoption  of  an  eight  hour  law. 

Before  the  adjournment  the  following  vote  was  unanimously 
adopted  : 

Be  it  resolved  by  the  citizens  of  Melrose  in  Town  Meeting  assembled 
that  our  heart}'  thanks  and  commendation  are  due  and  hereby  extend- 
ed to  our  fellow  citizen,  Hon,  Levi  S.  Gould,  who  for  so  many  years 
has  presided  over  our  deliberations  with  eminent  parliamentarj'  ability, 
dignity  and  fairness. 


CHAPTER  X. 

CITY  OF  MELROSE. 

THE  first  mo\ement  contemplating-  a  change  in  the  form  of 
government  for  the  Town  of  Melrose,  was  made  in  1895, 
when,  at  a  Town  Meeting  held  April  8,  the  following 
committee  was  appointed  "to  consider  what  improvement,  if 
an}',  can  be  made  in  the  method  of  government  of  this  town:" 
Col.  Francis  S.  Hesseltine,  Ro3^al  P.  Bariy,  Sidney  H.  Buttrick, 
John  Larrabee,  George  L.  Morse,  Joshua  T.  Nowell  and  Wil- 
liam N.  Folsom.  April  13,  1896,  Col.  Hesseltine  made  an  out- 
line report  on  an  impro\'ed  form  of  government,  resulting  in 
the  appointment  of  a  committee  of  five  "  to  elaborate  and  per- 
fect "  the  same.  That  committee  was  Col.  Francis  S.  Hessel- 
tine, John  Larrabee,  Sidney  H.  Buttrick,  George  L.  Morse,  and 
Levi  S.  Gould.  A  report  of  this  committee  was  made  Novem- 
ber 16,  when  the  whole  matter  was  referred  back  to  the  same 
committee,  with  these  additional  names  :  George  R.  Jones, 
Nathan  D.  Blake,  Winthrop  Messenger  and  Rev.  Joseph  K. 
Wilson. 

This  enlarged  committee  reported  in  print,  June  3,  1897,  and 
the  report  was  "accepted  and  filed."  June  7,  the  matter  came 
up  in  a  somewhat  different  form:  it  was  voted 

That  a  committee  of  ten,  five  of  whom  shall  prefer  a  city  form 
of  government  and  five  a  modification  of  the  present  town  form  of 
government,  be  appointed,  who  shall  report  to  the  town  in  writing  a 
form  of  city  government  and  a  form  of  town  government  in  such  detail 
as  is  necessary  to  give  a  clear  idea  of  the  proposed  forms ;  that  these 
reports  shall  be  submitted  to  a  town  meeting  to  be  called  by  the 
selectmen  the  first  week  in  October ;  that  after  a  full  discussion  and 
amendments,  if  any,  the  vote  shall  be  taken  by  ballot,  the  polls  to  be 
open  for  nine  hours,  beginning  at  noon.  Each  voter  .shall  vote  "  yes  " 
or  "  no  "  on  the  question  of  retaining  the  present  form  of  government. 
If  a  majority  of  those  voting  on  this  question  shall  \ote  "  no,"  then 
whichever  plan  shall  receive  a  larger  number  of  votes  shall  be  drafted 
into  a  bill,  which  the  committee  shall  then  present  to  the  forthcoming 
session  of  the  legislature  as  the  desire  of  the  town. 


CITY  OF  MELROSE.  'iGO' 

October  7,  this  committee  reported  in  print,  and  it  was 
voted 

to  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  proposed  form  of  city  charter 
first,  section  by  section,  and  then  the  proposed  form  of  modified  town 
government  in  the  same  manner,  perfectin<j^  them  as  the  town  desired 
before  proceeding  to  final  action  on  them. 

At  this  and  four  subsequent  Town  Meetino's  the  various 
articles  in  both  forms  of  government  were  debated  at  length, 
and  on  November  23,  the  ballot  was  taken  with  the  following 
result: 

Shall  the  present  form  of  government  be  retained  ?  Yes,  4S6 ;  No, 
455;  scattering,  30;  total  971.  Proposed  form  of  city  charter,  424; 
proposed  change  in  present  form  of  town  government,  356;  blanks^ 
42;  total  S22. 

The  next  movement  in  the  interest  of  a  change  was  made  at 
the  Town  Meeting  held  August  18,  1898,  when  the  following 
\-ote  was  passed: 

That  a  committee  of  fifteen,  consisting  of  the  Moderator  of  this 
meeting,  one  member  from  the  Board  of  Selectmen,  one  member  from 
the  Board  of  Sewer  Commissioners,  one  member  from  the  Board  of 
Water  Commissioners,  and  eleven  members  at  large,  be  appointed 
to  draft  a  City  Charter  for  Melrose ;  said  Committee  to  be  authorized 
to  report  in  print  at  a  special  Town  Meeting  to  be  called  for  such  pur- 
pose, by  said  Committee. 

This  committee  consisted  of  Levi  S.  Ciould,  Eugene  H. 
Moore,  Curtis  C.  Goss,  Seth  E.  Benson,  John  J.  McCuIlough, 
John  P.  Deering,  Erank  R.  Upham,  Charles  J.  Barton,  John  W.' 
Earwell,  P:dwin  S.  Small,  Charles  C.  Barry,  Erank  L.  Wash- 
burn, Clinton  White,  L.  IIenr>-  Kunhardt,  and   Oscar  E.  Erost. 

It  was  deemed  best  to  get  an  expression  of  the  citizens  to 
see  whether  or  not  they  desired  a  city;  therefore  a  petition  was 
sent  to  the  Selectmen  asking  them  to  call  a  special  Town 
Meeting  for  October  3,  "to  see  if  the  Town  will  authorize  and 
direct  its  Selectmen  to  petition  the  next  General  Court  for  a 
City  Charter.  Yes  or  no."  In  accordance  with  this  the  meet- 
ing was  called  and  held,  and  a  ballot  taken,  with  the  following 
result:  Yes,  506;   No.  335;   Blank  2;  Total,  843. 

After  this  expression  of  the  voters  in  fa\or  of  a  city,  the 
committee  of  fifteen,  after  many  meetings,  and  mature  deliber- 
ation, submitted  its  report  in  print,  at  a  Town  Meeting  held 
January  3,  1899,  the  same  having  been  pre\iously  circulated  by 


270 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


distribution  throughout  the  town;  thus  giving  every'one  oppor- 
tunity to  read  and  consider.  At  this  and  three  adjourned 
meetings,  held  January  9,  16  and  23,  the  charter  was  read  and 
considered  section  by  section;  and,  with  a  few  amendments,  was 
adopted  by  the  Town  very  nearly  in  the  text  as  reported  by  the 


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THE  CHARTER  PEN. 

committee.  The  Selectmen,  according  to  previous  instruction, 
then  proceeded  to  apply  to  the  Legislature  for  the  charter  as 
adopted.  This  action  was  taken,  and  application  made  through 
our  Representative  to  the  General  Court,  Charles  H.  Adams. 
In  due  time  the  charter  was  reported  to  the  House  of  Repre- 
sentatives as  "An  Act  to  Incorporate  the  City  of  Melrose." 


CITY  OF  MELROSE.  271 

It  passed  throu.fjh  its  various  stages,  and  was  sent  to  the  Senate, 
where  it  was  amended  by  striking  out  the  referendum  clause. 
The  House  afterwards  concurred  in  the  action  of  the  Senate, 
and  it  was  passed  to  be  engrossed.  It  was  signed  by  Gov. 
Wolcott  March  i8,  1899. 

A  Town  Meeting  was  called  by  the  Selectmen,  for  May  8, 
when  the  Act  of  Incorporation  was  submitted  to  the  voters  of 
the  town,  for  adoption  or  rejection,  by  the  following  question  : 

Shall  an  act  passed  by  the  General  Court  in  the  year  eighteen 
hundred  and  ninety-nine,  entitled  "An  Act  to  incorporate  the  City  of 
Melrose,"  be  accepted? 

The  result  was  as  follows:  Yes,  525;  No,  218;  Blank,  i  ; 
Total,  744. 

The  Act  of  Incorporation  has  fifty-seven  sections,  sub-divid- 
ed as  follows  :  Title  I,  Municipal  Government  ;  Title  II,  Elec- 
tions and  Meetings  ;  Title  III,  Legislative  Department  ;  Title 
IV,  Executive  Department;  Title  V,  School  Department; 
Title  VI,  Departments  and  Ofificers  ;  Title  VII,  Public  Library 
Department  ;  Title  VIII,  General  Provisions. 

The  charter  thus  accepted  provided  that  the  city  be  divided 
into  seven  wards  by  the  Selectmen  ;  that  the  legislative  de- 
partment shall  consist  of  a  Mayor,  seven  Aldermen-at-Large, 
and  two  Aldermen  from  each  ward,  a  total  of  twenty-one  Al- 
dermen. The  Mayor  and  Ward  Aldermen  are  to  be  elected 
annually,  and  the  election  of  the  Aldermen-at-Large  so  arrang- 
ed that  four  and  three  shall  be  elected  alternately  for  two-year 
terms.  The  School  Committee  shall  consist  of  nine  persons, 
chosen  by  the  city  at  large,  and  their  election  so  arranged  that 
three  members  shall  be  chosen  annually. 

The  Board  of  Aldermen  shall  elect  a  President  to  preside 
over  its  deliberations  ;  they  shall  also  elect  a  City  Clerk,  City 
Treasurer,  City  Collector,  and  City  Auditor. 

The  executive  powers  of  the  City  are  invested  in  the  Mayor, 
and  he  appoints,  subject  to  the  concurrence  of  the  Board  of 
Aldermen,  the  Assessors,  Assistant  Assessors,  Overseers  of  the 
Poor,  Trustees  of  the  Public  Library,  Engineer  and  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Works,  City  Solicitor,  Chief  of  the  Fire  De- 
partment, Chief  of  Police,  a  Cemetery  Committee,  Registrars 
of  Voters,  and  other  minor  officers. 

The  first  election  for  city  officers  under  this  charter  took 
place  December  12,  1899,  when  the  following  were  electctl  : 


272 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Mayor,  Levi  S.  Gould. 

Aldermen-at-Large  for  two  years,  Charles  j.  Barton,  Jona- 
than C.  Howes,  Chester  Shepard,  Clarence  T.  Fernald. 

Aldermen-at-Large  for  one  year,  Eugene  H.  Moore,  Curtis 
C.  Goss,  William   A.  Carrie. 

Ward  Aldermen,  Arthur  H.  Folger,  Charles  E.  French,  Ward 
One  ;  Albert  A.  Day,  George  E.  Gilchrist,  Ward  Two  ;  George 
R.  Jones,   Frank  W.   Foster,  Ward  Three  ;   Frank  H.  Damon, 


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John  G.  Robinson,  Ward  Four  ;  Edwin  S.  Small,  Fred  E.  Ev- 
erett, W^ard  Five  ;  Aaron  Hill,  Jr.,  George  E.  Berry,  Ward  Six  ; 
Andrew  J.  Burnett,  John  E.  Marshall,  Ward  Seven.  No  salary. 
School  Committee,  Arthur  F.  Amadou,  Susan  F.  Flanders, 
John  C.  Maker,  three  years  ;  D.  Eugene  Curtis,  Sarah  A.  Day, 
William  D.  Stewart,  two  years  ;  Ik'ssie  B.  Dearborn,  Edward 
B.  Marsh,  Fred  L.  W^jod,  one  year.      No  salary. 


CITY  OF  MELROSE.  273 

The  total  vote  thrown  was  :  Male,  2,246  ;  Female,  72.  The 
vote  on  the  License  Question  was  :  Yes,  477;  No,  1,584.  The 
vote  on  the  Eight-Hour  Question  was  :  Yes,  1,389;   No,  569. 

The  new  City  Government  met  for  organization  Monday, 
January  i,  1900,  in  City  Hall,  at  10  o'clock,  when  the  oath  of 
ofifice  was  administered  to  the  Mayor  and  Aldermen  by  Town 
Clerk  W.  DeHaven  Jones.  The  Board  of  Aldermen  immedi- 
ately convened  for  its  first  session  and  elected  George  R. 
Jones,  President. 

Mayor  Gould  delivered  his  inaugural  address  in  the  City 
Hall,  in  the  evening  of  the  same  day,  after  which  President 
Jones  announced  the  various  committees  for  the  year  ensuing. 
The  committees  are  as  follows:  Ordinances,  rules,  orders  and 
legislative  matters;  finance;  highways,  sewers,  water  and  public 
grounds;  accounts  and  surety  bonds;  claims;  elections  and  re- 
turns, printing  and  supplies;  fire  department,  electric  and 
telephone  wires;  police  department  and  licenses;  street  rail- 
ways and  public  lighting;  public  buildings;  nominations  and 
resolutions;  state,  military  aid  and  soldiers'  relief;  public 
charities;  public  health;  public  instruction,  and  a  special  com- 
mittee on  settlement  with  the  Metropolitan  Water  Board. 

At  subsequent  meetings  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  the 
following  officers  were  elected  by  the  Aldermen  for  the  year 
ensuing: 

W.  DeHaven  Jones,  City  Clerk;   salary  Si, 200. 
John  Larrabee,  City  Treasurer;  salary  S750. 
James  W.  Murray,  City  Collector;  salary  ^1,000. 
Edwin  C.  Gould,  City  Auditor;  salary  S500. 
The   Mayor,  whose  salary  is  S500  per  annum,  subsequently 
made  all  necessary  appointments  for  the  remaining  city  offices, 
which  were  confirmed   by  the  Aldermen;  the  principal  ones  as 
follows: 

W.  Dabney  Hunter,  Engineer  and  Superintendent  of  Public 
Works;   salary  §2,250. 

Frank  L.  Washburn,  City  Solicitor;  salary  S500. 

P>ank  R.  Upham,  Chairman,  Henry  A.  Leonard,  Joseph 
Edwards,  Assessors;  salaries  S900. 

Sidney  H.  Buttrick,  Chairman,  Matilda  V..  Stantial.  Albert 
B.  Franklin,  Overseers  of  the  Poor;  salaries  S400. 

Dr.  Clarence  P.  llolden.  Chairman,  William  H.  Dole 
Dr.  Paul  H.  Provandie,  Board  of  Health;  sal.iries  $300. 


274 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Elbridge  H.  Goss,  Chairman,  Charles  C.  Barry,  Trustees  of 
the  Public  Library  for  three  years;  no  salary. 

The  other  Trustees  holding  over  were  Mrs.  Maria  L.  Chapin, 
Secretary,  and  Neil  A.  Divver,  one  year,  and  Charles  A.  Patch, 
Treasurer,  and  Mrs.  Rub)-  F.  Farwell,  two  years. 

Frank  M.  McLaughlin,  Chief  of  Police;  salary  $i,ooo,  paid 
from  the  $11,500  police  department  appropriation. 

A.  Wilbur  Lynde,  Chief  of  the  Fire  Department;  salary  $100, 
paid  from  the  $11,500  fire  department  appropriation. 

Other  appointments  are  given  in  the  chapters  devoted  to 
the  respective  subjects;  the  rest  in  the  annual  reports. 

At  the  second  city  election,  which  took  place  December  ii, 
igoo,  the  following  officers  were  elected: 

Mayor,  John  Larrabee. 


Aldermen-at-Large,  two  years,  William  A.Carrie,  Eugene  H. 
Moore  and  M.  P'rank  Eastman. 

Ward  Aldermen:  Ward   One,  Arthur  H.  P^olger,  Charles   E. 


CITY  OF  MELROSE.  275 

French;  Ward  Two,  Albert  A.  Day,  George  E.  Cornwall; 
Ward  Three,  Frank  W.  Foster,  Elbridge  H.  Goss;  Ward  Four, 
Moses  S.  Page,  John  G.  Robinson;  Ward  Five,  Fred  E, 
Everett,  Edwin  S.  Small;  Ward  Six,  Charles  N.  Shute,  Aaron 
Hill,  Jr.;  Ward  Seven,  Andrew  J.  Burnett,  John  E.  Marshall. 

School  Committee:  Three  years,  Mrs.  Bessie  B.  Dearborn, 
Edward  B.  Marsh  and  Fred  L.  Wood. 

At  the  first  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  January  i, 
1901,  Mayor  Larrabee  delivered  his  inaugural  address,  John 
G.  Robinson  was  elected  President,  and  the  following  offi- 
cers were  re-elected  :  W.  DeHaven  Jones,  City  Clerk;  James 
W.  Murray,  City  Collector;  and  Edwin  C.  Gould,  City  Auditor. 
William  R.  Lavender  was  elected  City  Treasurer  to  take  the 
place  of  Mayor  Larrabee.  Later  the  Mayor  made  the  follow- 
ing appointments,  which  were  confirmed  by  the  Board  of  Al- 
dermen: W.  Dabney  Hunter,  Engineer  and  Superintendent  of 
Public  Works;  Frank  L.  Washburn,  City  Solicitor,  both  re- 
appointments; Frank  R.  Upham,  reappointed,  and  William 
Morss  and  Walter  C.  Stevens,  Assessors.  Dr.  Paul  H.  Pro- 
vandie  and  William  H.  Dole,  reappointed,  and  Joseph  H. 
Robinson,  Board  of  Health;  Mr.  Dole  resigned  and  Dr.  John 
T.  Timlin  was  appointed  in  his  place.  Sidney  H.  Buttrick  and 
Albert  B.  Franklin,  reappointed,  Matilda  E.  Stantial,  holding 
over,  Overseers  of  the  Poor.  Trustees  of  the  Public  Library; 
Edward  M.  Mun}'an  for  the  unexpired  term  of  Elbridge  H. 
Goss,  who  resigned;  Miss  Mary  L.  Charles,  for  the  unexpired 
term  of  Mrs.  Ruby  F.  Farwell,  who  resigned;  and  Mrs.  Maria 
L.  Chapin  and  Neil  A.  Divver  for  the  three  years'  term. 
Frank  M.  McLaughlin,  Chief  of  Police.  A.  Wilbur  Lynde 
Chief  Engineer  of  the  Fire  Department. 

The  standing  committees  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  for  this 
year  were  increased  by  adding  the  following:  On  buildings; 
City  Clerk  and  cemeter>';  public  schools  and  libraries;  Solici- 
tor and  Collector;  and  Treasurer  and  Assessors. 

The  Engineer  and  Superintendent  of  Public  Works  has 
charge  of  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  water  works,  sewers 
and  highways,  and  appoints  assistant  superintendents  of  the 
same;  for  water  works  he  appointed  James  W.  Riley  for  the 
three  years;  and  for  sewers,  Bartley  Maloney,  and  for  high- 
ways, James  Marshall. 

The  first  vacancy  in  the  Board  of  Aldermen  occurring  since 
the  organization  of  the  city  government,  was  caused  by  the 


276  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

death  of  Alderman-at-Large  Jonathan  C.  Howes,  who  died 
suddenly  on  the  morning  of  February  Q,  IQOI.  A  special 
meeting  of  the  Board  was  called  by  Mayor  Larrabee,  for 
Tuesday  evening,  February  ii.  Speeches  of  heartfelt  regret 
and  appreciation  were  made  by  his  brother  Aldermen;  resolu- 
tions were  adopted,  and  it  was  voted  to  attend  in  a  body,  the 
funeral,  which  took  place  Wednesday,  February  12.  Charles 
W.  H.  Frederick  was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy  caused  by  the 
death  of  Alderman  Howes. 

The  third  election  for  city  officers,  took  place  December  10,. 
1901,  with  the  following  result: 

Mayor,  John  Larrabee. 

Aldermen-at-Large,  two  years:  Charles  J.  Barton,  George  E. 
Berry,  Clarence  T.  Fernald,  and  Arthur  H.  Folger. 

Ward  Aldermen:  Ward  One,  William  N.  Folsom,  Charles 
E.  French;  Ward  Two,  George  E.  Cornwall,  Oliver  B.  Munroe; 
Ward  Three,  Albert  B.  Franklin,  Daniel  E.  Gibson;  Ward 
Four,  Moses  S.  Page,  John  G.  Robinson;  Ward  Five,  Fred  E. 
Everett,  Edward  S.  Page;  Ward  Six,  Aaron  Hill,  Jr.,  Charles 
N.  Shute;  Ward  Seven,  Andrew  J.  Burnett,  Charles  W.  Eaton. 

School  Committee  for  three  years:  Don  E.  Curtis,  Sarah  A. 
Day,  William  D.  Stewart. 

Voteonthe  License  Question:  Yes,  292;  No.  1,326;  majority 
for  no  license,  1,034. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  newly  elected  Board  of  Aldermen 
took  place  in  the  Aldermanic  Chamber,  Januar}^  6,  1902,  when 
His  Honor,  Mayor  John  Larrabee  delivered  his  second  inaug- 
ural address.  John  G.  Robinson  was  elected  President  of  the 
Board,  and  the  following  officers  were  elected:  W.  DeHaven 
Jones,  City  Clerk;  William  R.  Lavender,  City  Treasurer; 
James  W.  Murray,  City  Collector;  and  Edwin  C.  Gould,  City 
Auditor. 

A  few  changes  only  were  made  in  the  several  appointments 
by  the  Mayor:  L.  Frank  Hinckley,  Assessor,  in  place  of 
Walter  C.  Stevens,  and  William  S.  Soule,  Overseer  of  the  Poor, 
in  place  of  Albert  B,  P^ranklin. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

TOWN   AND   CITY   OFI^ICERS. 

THE  City  Charter  which  went  into  operation  January  i, 
1900,  provides  the  manner  in  which  the  Mayor,  Board 
of  Aldermen,  and  School  Committee  shall  be  elected; 
also  that  the  Clerk,  Treasurer,  Collector  and  Auditor  are  to  be 
-elected  annually  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen;  also  for  the  ap- 
pointment by  the  Mayor  of  the  various  officers  of  the  several 
departments,  viz:  Assessors,  Overseers  of  the  Poor,  Board  of 
Health,  Law%  Fire,  Police,  Public  Works  and  Public  Library. 
The  names  of  the  Mayors,  Aldermen,  Clerk,  Treasurer,  Col- 
lector and  Auditor  that  have  served  since  Melrose  became  a 
city,  have  been  given  in  the  previous  chapter;  and  those  of  the 
School  Committees,  Water  Commissioners,  Sewer  Commis- 
sioners, Park  Commissioners,  Board  of  Health,  Trustees  of  the 
Public  Library  and  Cemetery  Committees,  that  have  served 
under  Town  and  City  organizations,  are  given  in  chapters, 
"Educational  History,"  "Spot  Pond  Water  Works,"  "Sew- 
erage," "Board  of  Health,"  "  Parks,"  "Cemeteries,"  and  "  Pub- 
lic Library."     Other  principal  officers  follow: 

TOWN    MODERATORS. 

While  Melrose  was  a  Town,  from  1850  to  1900,  a  Mod^-rator 
was  chosen  for  each  regularly  called  Town  Meeting,  who  also 
presided  at  any  adjourned  meeting  of  the  same.  The  follow- 
ing are  the  names  of  those  who  have  thus  served  the  Town: 

Regular  Meetings.  Henry  Sprague,  Daniel  W.  Gooch, 
Jacob  K.  Dunham,  Franklin  Taylor,  Elbridge  Green,  Ephraim 
Avery,  George  Emerson,  Charles  F.  Estey,  Thomas  W.  Chad- 
bourne,  James  C.  Currier  and  Moses  Briggs,  one  each;  Caleb 
Howard,  Rev.  John  C.  Ingalls,  John  T.  Paine,  Shubael  L. 
Taylor,  Aaron  Green,  Joseph  R.  Simonds,  William  B.  Burgess, 
Napoleon  B.  Bryant  and  Walter  Babb,  two  each  ;  Henry 
A.   Norris,  three    times;    James    M.  Thresher,  and    Philip    B. 


278  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Holmes,  four  each;  James  M.  Beckett,  six  times;  Jeremiah 
Martin  and  German  S.  Phippen,  thirteen  each;  Nelson  Coch- 
ran, twenty-two  times;  John  H.  Clark,  twenty-three  times; 
Levi  S.  Gould,  one  hundred  and  eight  times. 

Adjourned  Meetings.  James  M.  Thresher,  Thomas  W. 
Chadbourne,  German  S.  Phippen,  and  William  B.  Burgess,  one 
each;  John  H.  Clark,  two  times;  Nelson  Cochran,  three  times; 
Levi  S.  Gould,  one  hundred  and  seven  times. 

In  testimony  of  the  appreciation  of  the  service  of  Hon.  Levi 
S.  Gould  as  Moderator,  the  following  vote  was  passed,  hand- 
somely engrossed,  framed  and  presented  to  him  March  ii, 
1884: 

The  Inhabitants  of  Melrose  in  Town  Meeting  assembled,  Tuesday, 
March  11,  1884,  Voted,  unanimousl}'.  That  the  thanks  of  the  Town  be 
presented  to  Levi  S.  Gould,  Esq.,  for  the  able  and  impartial  manner 
in  which  he  has  discharged  his  duties  as  Moderator  of  this  meeting, 
and  for  his  faithful  service  in  the  past,  this  being  the  thirty-eighth 
time  he  has  been  elected  to  the  office,  and  the  sixt3^-first  meeting,  in- 
cluding adjourned  meetings  of  the  Town,  over  which  he  has  presided. 

In  i8go,  Mr.  Gould  had  served  so  many  times  in  addition  to 
the  above,  and  so  acceptably,  as  Moderator  of  our  Town 
Meetings,  that  the  Town  again  desired  to  testifiy  to  its  appre- 
ciation of  his  services,  and  present  him  with  some  additional 
testimonial.  The  number  of  times  he  had  served  at  that  time 
was  an  unusually  large  one;  but  many  more  elections  to  that 
office  have  since  been  added.  Therefore,  at  an  adjourned 
meeting  held  November  8,  1890,  a  committee  consisting  of 
Col.  Francis  S.  Hesseltine,  George  T.  Brown  and  Major  Wilbur 
D.  Fiske,  was  appointed 

to  prepare  or  procure  a  suitable  testimonial  to  be  presented  to  Levi  S. 
Gould  for  the  faithful  and  impartial  manner  in  which  he  has  discharged 
his  duties  as  Moderator,  this  being  his  sixtieth  election  to  the  office, 
and  the  114th  meeting,  including  adjournments,  over  which  he  has 
presided  without  compensation. 

At  the  meeting  held  March  7,  1891,  this  committee  reported 
and  presented  to  Mr.  Gould,  in  behalf  of  the  Town,  a  gold 
jewel,  and  a  silver  pitcher,  both  of  which  were  suitably 
inscribed,  showing  a  just  appreciation  of  his  services  as 
Moderator. 


TOWN  AND  CITY  OFFICERS. 


279 


GOULU    TKSTI.MKMAl.S.' 
^  The  inscription  on  the  jewel  is       i8,  1890 — voted  this  testimonial  for 
as  follows  :   "  The  Town  of  Melrose       his  faithful  and  impartial  discharge 
to    Levi    S.  Gould,  on    his   sixtieth       of  the  duties  of  the  office." 
election    as  Moderator,    November 


280 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Since  that  date  he  has  been  elected  forty-eight  times,  and 
has  in  addition  presided  over  fifty-three  adjourned  meetings; 
making  the  total  number  of  Town  Meetings  over  which  he  has 
presided  two  hundred  and  fifteen;  covering  a  period  of  thirty- 
five  years,  being  first  elected  at  the  March  Meeting  in  1865. 


TOWN  AND  CITY  OFFICERS. 


SELECTMEN. 


1850. 
Jeremiah  Martin. 
Isaac  Emerson,  Jr. 
Artemas  Barrett. 

1851. 
Jeremiah  Martin. 
Shubael  L.  Taylor. 
Jonathan  Cochran. 

1852. 

Jeremiah  Martin. 
Franklin  Taylor. 
Rufus  Flint. 

1853. 
Franklin  Taylor. 
Ephraim  Avery. 
Henry  Sprague. 

1854. 

George  Emerson. 

John  Blake. 

James  M.  Thresher. 

1855. 
John  Blake. 
James  M.  Thresher. 
James  M.  Beckett. 

1856. 
George  M.  Fletcher. 
William  E.  Fuller. 
James  M.  Beckett. 

18.57. 
George  M.  Fletcher. 
William  E.  Fuller. 
Benjamin  F.  Abbott. 

1858. 
Elbridge  Gardner. 
Ephraim  Avery. 
Nelson  Cochran. 


1859. 
Elbridge  Gardner. 
William  J.  Farnsworth. 
George  M.  Fletcher. 

1860. 

George  Emerson. 
Nelson  Cochran. 
William  J.  Farnsworth. 

1861. 
William  B.  Burgess. 
George  M.  Fletcher. 
John  H.  Clark. 
1862-1863. 
John  H.  Clark. 
William  B.  Burgess. 
George  M.  Fletcher. 

1864. 
John  H.  Clark. 
William  B.  Burgess. 
William  E.  Fuller. 

1865-66-67. 
Wingate  P.  Sargent. 
George  M.  F'letcher. 
Isaac  Emerson. 

1868. 

Wingate  P.  Sargent. 
James  C.  Currier. 
George  Newhall. 
1869. 

Levi  S.  Gould. 
James  C.  Currier. 
Josejih  D.  Wilde. 

1870. 

James  C.  Currier. 
Daniel  Russell. 
Francis  P.  Woodbury. 


TOWN  AND  CITY  OFFICERS. 


281 


1871. 
James  C.  Currier. 
Daniel  Russell. 
Johu  H.  Clark. 

1872. 
Daniel  Russell. 
Johu  H.  Clark. 
George  F.  Stone. 

1873. 
Stephen  F.  Keyes. 
William  J.  Farnsworth. 
Charles  T.  Stevens. 

1874. 
Walter  Babb. 
Henry  G.  Fields. 
George  A.  Mansfield. 

1875. 
Walter  Babb. 
Henry  G.  Fields. 
George  A.  Mansfield. 

1876. 
Walter  Babb. 
Henry  G.  Fields, 
l^athau  D.  Blake. 

1877. 
Walter  Babb. 
Henry  G.  Fields. 
Nathan  D.  Blake. 

1878. 
Nathan  D.  Blake. 
Henry  G.  Fields. 
Charles  H.  Edmonds. 

1879-80-81-82. 
Daniel  Norton,  Jr. 
Henry  G.  Fields. 
Joseph  F.  Boyd. 

1888. 
Daniel  Norton,  Jr. 
Heury  G.  Fields. 
Joseph  F.  Boyd. 

1884. 
Daniel  Norton,  Jr. 
Henry  G.  Fields. 
William  Boynton. 

1885-8(3. 
Levi  S.  Gould. 
Henry  G.  Fields. 
John  K.  Currier. 


1887. 
Levi  S.  Gould. 
John  B.  Souther. 
John  P.  Deering. 

1888-89-90-91-92. 
Levi  S.  Gould. 
John  P.  Deering. 
Charles  W.  Higgins. 

1893. 
Daniel  Norton. 
Charles  W.  Cook. 
Eugene  H.  Moore. 
William  A.  Waterhouse. 
Sidney  H.  Buttrick. 

1894-95. 
Daniel  Norton. 
Charles  W.  Cook. 
Eugene  H.  Moore. 
John  P.  Deering. 
Sidney  H.  Buttrick. 

1896. 

Eugene  H.  Moore. 
Harry  A.  Batchelder. 
Roswell  C.  Taylor. 
Sidney  D.  Farrar. 
Sidney  H.  Buttrick. 

1897. 
Eugene  H.  Moore. 
Harry  A.  Batchelder. 
Sidney  D.  Farrar. 
Sidney  H.  Buttrick. 
Jonathan  C.  Howes. 

1898. 
Sidney  H.  Buttrick. 
Eugene  H.  Moore. 
Sidney  D.  Farrar. 
Jonathan  C.  Ilov^-es. 
L.  Frank  Hinckley. 

1890. 
Sidney  H. 'Buttrick. 
Jonathan  C.  Howes. 
L.  Frank  Hinckley. 
William  A.  Carrie. 
Charles  J.  Barton. 


282 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


1850. 
Aaron  Green. 
Shubael  L.  Taylor. 
William  J.  Farnsworth. 

1851. 

Shubael  L.  Taylor. 
Aaron  Green. 
Rufus  H.  Flint. 

1852. 
Aaron  Green. 
German  S.  Phippeu. 
Henry  Sprague. 

1853. 
Isaac  Emerson. 
Joshua  Upham. 
George  W.  Barrett. 

1854. 

Jonathan  Cochran. 
German  S.  Phippen. 
Asa  Upham. 

1855. 
George  M.  Fletcher. 
Jonathan  Cochran. 
E.  P.  Evans. 

1856. 
Jonathan  Cochran. 
Benjamin  Linniken. 
George  M.  Fletcher. 

1857. 
Jonathan  Cochran. 
George  M.  Fletcher. 
Joseph  Holbrook. 

1858. 
Jonathan  Cochran. 
Joseph  Holbrook. 
Henry  Robinson. 

1859. 
Jonathan  Cochran. 
Heurj'  Robinson. 
William  E.  Fuller. 

1860. 

Jonathan  Cochran. 
William  B.  Burgess. 
George  M.  Fletcher. 


ASSESSORS. 

1861. 
Edward  P.  Nevins. 
Joseph  R.  Simonds. 
Thomas  B.  Merrick. 

1862. 
Edward  P.  Nevins. 
George  M.  Fletcher. 
Stephen  Shelton. 

1863-64. 
Edward  P.  Nevins. 
Stephen  Shelton. 
George  M.  Fletcher. 

1865-66. 
George  Emerson. 
Joel  Snow. 
George  M.  Fletcher. 

1867. 
George  M.  Fletcher. 
George  Emerson. 
Joel  Snow. 

1868-69. 
Erastus  O.  Phinney. 
Aaron  Green. 
Elbridge  Green. 

1870. 
David  Fairbanks. 
Elbridge  Green. 
John  R.  Jones. 

1871 
Samuel  O.  Dearborn. 
Henry  A.  Norris. 
Azel  E.  Steele. 

1872. 
.Samuel  O.  Dearborn. 
George  W.  Farnsworth. 
Azel  E.  Steele. 

1873. 
Elbridge  Green. 
George  W.  Farnsworth. 
Aaron  Green. 

1874. 
Charles  H.  Edmonds. 
George  F.  Boardman. 
M.  L.  Ray. 


TOWN  AND  CITY  OFFICERS. 


283 


1875-76. 
Charles  H.  Edmonds. 
James  C.  Currier. 
George  W.  Farnsworth. 

1877. 
John  R.  Jones 
James  C.  Currier. 
Charles  T.  Stevens. 

1878. 
James  C.  Currier. 
Charles  T.  Stevens. 
Henry  A.  Leonard. 

1879-80-81-82. 
George  C.  Stantial. 
James  C.  Currier. 
Dexter  Pratt. 

1883. 
George  C.  Stantial. 
Henry  A.  Leonard. 
Dexter  Pratt. 

1884. 

Herbert  H.  Westgate. 
George  F.  Boardman. 
Dexter  Pratt. 
1885. 
George  C.  Stantial. 
George  F.  Boardman. 
Gilbert  N.  Harris. 

1886-87. 
George  C.  Stantial. 
George  F.  Boardman. 
Moses  Briggs. 


1888. 
John  R.  Norton. 
Moses  Briggs. 
Albon  W.  Parker. 

1889. 
John  R.  Norton. 
Charles  W.  Cook. 
Albon  W.  Parker. 

1890-91-92. 
Henry  A.  Leonard. 
John  R.  Norton. 
Dexter  Pratt. 

1893-94-95-96-97. 
George  C.  Stantial. 
Henry  A.  Leonard. 
Dexter  Pratt. 
1898-99. 

Henry  A.  Leonard. 
Frank  R.  Upham. 
Joseph  Edwards. 

CITY. 

1900. 
Frank  R.  Upham. 
Henry  A.  Leonard. 
Joseph  Edwards. 

1901. 
Frank  R.  Upham. 
William  Morss. 
Walter  C.  Stevens. 

1902. 
Frank  R.  Upham. 
William  Morss. 
L.  Frank  Hinckley. 


TOWN  CLERKS. 

Elbridge  Green,  one  year, 

Jonathan   Cochran,    two    years,    (several   times 

elected  Clerk /ro /"^wi.)  . 
Frances  Bugl)ee,  four  years. 
Mason  M.  Flint, /ro  tent,  (resigned)   . 
Chas.  H.  Shepard, />rc>  i'^w., 
Chas.  H.  Shepard,  (resigned  December  30 
Edward  R.  Knights,  six  years,     . 
Stinson  Sewall,  four  years, 
David  Fairbanks,  two  years, 
James  Worthen,  two  years,   . 
John  Larrabee,  twenty-one  3'ears, 


1850 

1851-1852 

1853-1856 

1857 

1857 

1858 

1S59-1864 

1865-1868 

I 869-1 870 

1871-1872 

1 873- 1 894. 


284 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Edward  K.  Bordman,  four  years,  (died  Decem- 
ber 14,  '98) 1895-1898 

W.  DeHaven  Jones,  two  years,     ....         1898-1899 


CITY  CLERKS. 


W.  DeHaven  Jones, 


1900-1902 


TREASURERS. 

TOWN. 
Isaac  Emerson,  four  years, 
John  Blake,  one  year,    .... 
Caleb  Howard,  ten  years, 
David  Fairbanks,  six  years, 
Erastus  O.  Phinney,  M.  D.,  one  year, 
David  Fairbanks,  two  years, 
George  Newhall,  twenty-six  years, 


I 850-1 853 
1854 
1855-1864 
1865-1870 
1871 
1872-1873 
I 8 74- I 899 


CITY. 


John  Larrabee,  one  year, 
William  R.  Lavender,    . 


1900 
1901-1902 


COLLECTORS  OF  TAXES. 

TOWN. 
Isaac  Emerson,  one  year, 
Shubael  L.  Taylor,  one  year. 
Freeman  Upham,  one  year, 
Asa  Slocum,  one  year, 
William  N.  Wilkinson,  one  year, 
Caleb  Howard,  four  years,     . 
Stephen  J.  Phinney,  two  years,    . 
George  Newhall,  three  years, 
John  Smith,  one  year,  . 
David  Fairbanks,  two  years, 
George  M.  Fletcher,  (Dept.  Collector 
Aaron  Green,  one  year, 
George  F.  Boardman,  five  years, 
Ansel  B.  Pierce,  five  years,   . 
John  R.  Jones,  two  years, 
Moses  Briggs,  one  year, 
Jonathan  C.  Howes,  three  j^ears, 
Lewis  G.  Coburn,  one  year, 
Moses  F.  Eastman,  three  years,  . 
Parker  Merrill,  two  years,    . 
Addison  Lane,  eight  years,    . 
James  W.  Murray,  two  years. 


CITY. 


James  W.  Murray, 


1850 

I85I 

1852 

1853 

1854 

I855-IS58 

I859-I860 

I86I-I863 

1864 

I865-I866 

) 

1866 

1867 

I868-I872 

I873-I877 

I878-I879 
1880 

I88I-I883 
1884 

I885-I887 

I 888- I 889 
I 890- I 897 
I 898- 1899 

1900-1902 

TOWN  AND  CITY  OFFICERS. 


28& 


TOWN 

1850. 
Jonathan  Cochran. 
Josiah  W.  Talbot. 
John  Blake. 

1851. 
Jonathan  Cochran. 
Isaac  Emerson. 

1852. 
George  Emerson. 
Jonathan  Cochran. 
Erastus  O.  Phinney,  M.  D. 

1853. 
Erastus  O.  Phinney,  M. 
George  Emerson. 
Jonathan  Cochran. 

1854. 
George  Emerson. 
John  Blake. 
James  M.  Thresher. 

1855. 
William  B.  Burgess. 
Erastus  O.  Phinney. 
James  M.  Thresher. 


ISGl. 
Philip  B.  Holmes. 
William  Pierce. 
Aaron  Green. 

1862. 
Samuel  O.  Dearborn. 
Philip  B.  Holmes. 
J'  hn  R.  Norton. 

1863. 

Samuel  O.  Dearborn. 
Philip  B.  Holmes. 
John  R.  Norton. 

1864. 
John  R.  Norton. 
Daniel  W.  Wilcox. 
Stephen  Shelton. 

1865. 
Daniel  W.  Wilcox. 
John  L.  Andrews. 
Henry  A.  Norris. 


AUDITORS. 

IfIN.\N'CIAL   COMMITTEE. 
1856. 
Aaron  Green. 
William  B.  Burgess. 
Jonathan  Cochran. 

1857. 
Jonathan  Cochran. 
Aaron  Green. 
William  B.  Burgess. 

1858. 
Erastus  O.  Phinney. 
William  J.  Farnsworth. 
J)  George  F.  Boardman. 

1859. 
Erastus  O.  Phiuney. 
Aaron  Green. 
German  S.  Phippen. 

1860. 
Philip  B.  Holmes. 
Aaron  Green. 
William  Pierce. 


TOWN    AUDITORS. 

1866. 
Daniel  W.  Wilcox. 
John  L.  Andrews. 
Henry  A.  Norris. 

1867. 
John  L.  Andrews. 
Henry  A.  Norris. 
Levi  S.  Gould. 

1868-69. 
Thomas  W.  Chadbourue. 
Oren  H.  Peck. 
Elbridge  H.  Goss. 

1870. 
Elbridge  H.  Goss. 

1871-72-73-74. 
Elbridge  H.  Goss. 
John  R.  Norton. 

1875. 
Elbridge  H.  Goss. 
John  R.  Norton. 


286 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


1876-77-78. 
John  R.  Norton. 
Frank  E.  Orcutt. 

1879-80-81-82. 
John  R.  Norton. 
Frank  E.  Orcutt. 
Ernest  Mendum. 

1883-84. 
John  R.  Norton. 
Frank  E.  Orcutt. 
Gilbert  N.  Harris. 

1885-86. 
John  R.  Norton. 
Frank  E.  Orcutt. 
Walter  I.  Nickerson. 


1887. 
Frank  E.  Orcutt. 
Walter  I.  Nickerson. 
Gilbert  N.  Harris. 
1888-89-90. 
Frank  E.  Orcutt. 
Walter  I.  Nickerson. 
Gilbert  N.  Harris. 

1891. 
Edwin  C.  Gould,  to  incorporation 
of  the  City. 

CITY    AUDITOR. 

1900-01-02. 
Edwin  C.  Gould. 


TOWN    COUNSEL. 

The  office  of  Town  Counsel,  to  take  charge  of  the  legal  mat- 
ters that  arise  from  time  to  time,  was  first  inaugurated  in  1897, 
when  Frank  L.  Washburn  was  appointed  to  that  position  by 
the  Selectmen,  in  accordance  with  the  following  vote,  passed 
April  13,  1897  : 

Voted,  That  the  selectmen  be  authorized  to  employ  a  competent 
person  who  shall  serve  as  town  counsel,  whose  duty  shall  be  to  furnish 
legal  advice  to  the  various  officers  whenever  desired,  and  also  prose- 
cute and  defend  all  actions  for  and  against  the  town  during  the  current 
year.     Salary  #500. 

Mr.  Washburn  held  the  office  until  Melrose  became  a  City, 
when  the  office  was  designated  as 

CITY    SOLICITOR. 

Mr.  Washburn  has  been  elected  to  that  office  by  the  J3oard 
of  Aldermen  for  the  years  1900,  1901,  1902. 

WATER    LOAN    SINKING    FUND    COMMISSIONERS. 

Section  7  of  the  act  "In  Addition  to  an  Act  to  incorporate 
the  Spot  Pond  Water  Company,"  which  gave  the  three  towns 
of  Melrose,  Maiden  and  Medford  the  right  to  purchase  the 
franchise,  property,  rights  and  privileges  of  the  "Spot  Pond 
Water  Company,"  reads  as  follows: 


The  surplus  of  the  net  income  derived  from  said  water-works  after 


TOWN  AND  CITY  OFFICERS.  287 

payment  of  the  semi-annual  interest  upon  said  scrip,  and  after  de- 
ducting all  charges  of  distribution  and  repairs,  and  other  expenses 
incident  to  the  same,  and  all  amounts  appropriated  from  time  to  time 
by  said  towns  for  the  payment  of  the  principal  sum  thereof,  under  the 
provisions  of  this  act,  shall,  in  each  town,  be  set  apart  as  a  sinking 
fund,  which,  with  the  accumulated  interest  upon  the  same,  shall  be 
devoted  to  the  payment  of  said  scrip  of  said  town  at  maturity. 

A  Board  of  Water  Loan  Sinking  Fund  Commissioners  was 
first  elected  by  the  Town,  March  25,  1878,  for  the  purpose  of 
investing  and  caring  for  these  yearly  accumulations.  The 
following  gentlemen  were  then  elected  and  have  served  in 
that  capacity  under  both  Town  and  City  governments  from 
that  time  until  the  present. 

WATER  LOAN  SINKING  FUND  COMMISSIONERS. 


Daniel  Russell,       .......         1878-1899 

Royal  P.  Barry,       .......  1878-1899 

Johu  W.  Farwell,   . 1S78-1899 

CITV. 

Daniel  Russell, 1900-1902 

Royal  P.  Barry, 1900-1902 

John  W.  Farwell,   .......         1900-1902 

At  the  Town  Meeting  held  March  7,  1S9S,  it  was 

Voted,  To  establish  a  sinking  fund  for  the  payment  of  general  in- 
debtedness, in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  law,  and  to  proceed 
to  elect  three  sinking  fund  commissioners,  one  for  one  }ear,  one  for 
two  years,  and  one  for  three  years.  The  following  were  elected  and 
have  served  by  election  and  appointment : 

SINKING  FUND  COMMISSIONERS. 

TOWN. 

John  W.  Farwell, 1898-1899 

Royal  P.  Barry 1 898-1 899 

Daniel  Russell 1898-1899 


John  W.  Farwell,   .......         1900-X902 

Royal  P.  Barry,       .......         1900-1902 

Daniel  Russell,        .......  1900-1902 


288 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


REGISTRARS    OF    VOTERS. 

In  1884,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  authorizing  and  estab 
lishing  a  new  board  of  officers  consisting  of  three  members 
with  the  Town  Clerk  as  an  ex-officio  member,  whose  duties- 
should  be  to  take  charge  of  all  matters  pertaining  to  the 
registration  of  voters.  The  Selectmen  appointed  the  follow- 
ing: John  B.  Souther  for  one  year,  Walter  Babb  for  two  years 
and  Alfred  Hocking  for  three  years.  The  following  have 
been  the  appointments  from  year  to  year,  by  Selectmen  and 
Mayors,  with  terms  of  service: 


Johu  B.  Souther,  . 
Walter  Babb,  . 
Alfred  Hocking,  . 
Victor  C.  Kirmes,  . 
Charles  W.  Cochrane, 
Edgar  R.  Somes,  . 
Herbert  A.  Marsh, 
Edwin  L.  Cragin,   . 


The  Clerks  have  been  ex-officio  men 


John  Larrabee, 
Edward  K.  Bordnian, 
W.  DeHaven  Jones, 


bers: 


I 884-1 887 
I 884-1 897 
1884-1897 
1887- 
I 897-1 900 
1897-1900 
1900- 
1900- 


I 884-1 893 
1893-1898 
1898- 


Present  members:  Herbert  A.  Marsh,  Chairman,  Victor  C. 
Kirmes  and  Edwin  L.  Cragin. 

The  other  duties  of  the  Board,  besides  the  registration  of 
voters,  consists  of  preparing  lists  of  Jurors  to  be  submitted 
to  the  Board  of  Aldermen  for  approval,  and  the  settlement  of 
all  election  controversies.     Salaries  $50  each;  clerk  the  same. 

Other  positions  held  by  Melrose  citizens,  in  Town,  City  and 
Nation,  elective  and  appointed,  as  follows: 

Members  of  Congress.  Daniel  W.  Gooch,  35th,  36th,  37th,. 
38th,  39th  and  43d  Congresses.  William  E.  Barrett,  54th  and 
55th  Congresses. 

Naval  Officer,  Port  of  Boston.     Daniel  W.  Gooch,  1865. 

Pension  Agent,  Boston.     Daniel  W.  Gooch,  1875-1886. 

Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue  for  Boston  District. 
Frank  PI  Orcutt,  1 889-1 892. 

Senators.  Samuel  P^.  Sewall,  1852;-  Daniel  Russell,  1879-80; 
B.  Marvin  Fernald,  1891-92;  George  R.  Jones,  1901-02. 

2  Mr.  Sewall  was  elected  to  the  residence  was  just  over  the  line 
Senate    as    from    Stoneham.      His       from  Melrose,  in  that  part  of  Stone- 


TOWN  AND  CITY  OFFICERS.      '  ii89 

Representatives.  John  T.  Paine,  1851;  Daniel  W.  Gooch, 
1852;  Samuel  O.  Dearborn,  1853;  John  Vial,  1855;  Guy  Lamkin, 
1857;  Walter  Littlefield,  Jr.,  1858;  Loren  L.  Fuller,  1859; 
Artemas  Barrett,  1861;  Isaac  Emerson,  Jr.,  1863-64;  Rufus 
Smith,  1866;  Levi  S.  Gould,  1868-69;  James  C.  Currier,  1871; 
Nelson  Cochran,  1872;  Elbridge  H.  Goss,  1874-75;  W.  Irving 
Ellis,  1877-78;  Joseph  D.  Wilde,  1879-80;  B.  Marvin  Fernald, 
1881-82;  Wingate  P.  Sargent,  1883-84;  John  VV.  Farvvell,  1885; 
John  Larrabee,  1886-87;  William  E.  Barrett,  1888-89-90-91- 
92-93;  George  R.  Jones,  1894-95-96-97-98;  Charles  H.Adams, 
I 899- I 900-0 I -02. 

Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives.  William  E.  Bar- 
rett, 1889-90-91-92-93. 

Count}^  Commissioner,  Middlesex  County.  Levi  S.  Gould, 
1897-. 

Governor's  Council.  Charles  F.  Loring,  1892.  Not  sworn 
in;  died  January  28,  1892. 

Presidential  Elector.     George  L.  Morse,  1901. 

Harbor  and  Land  Commissioner.     Clinton  White,  1897-1900 

Railroad  Commissioner.     Clinton  White,  1901-. 

Civil  Service  Commissioner  for  INIelrose.  George  H.  Dear- 
born, 1902. 

United  States  Consul  to  St.  Pierre,  Martinique,  West  Indies. 
Thomas  T.  Prentis,  1901-.  Mr.  Prentis,  wife  and  two 
daughters  were  destroyed  by  the  dreadful  eruption  of  Mt. 
Pelee,  May  8,  1902. 


ham,     now     known      as    "  Sewall       estate  several  years  before  Melrose 
Woods  Park,"  which  was  set  off  to       was  incorporated. 
Melrose,  in   1853.      He  bought  the 


CHAPTER  XII. 

SPOT  POND  WATER  WORKS. 

NESTLED  amid  the  higher  lands  of  Stoneham  and  Med- 
ford,  and  in  the  very  centre  of  the  wild  and  beautiful 
Middlesex  Fells  Reservation,  lies  Spot  Pond.  Orig- 
inally the  pond  was  much  smaller  than  it  is  now,  but  was 
largely  increased  in  area  by  the  building  of  a  dam  by  the 
Sprague  family,  which  had  possession  of  it  for  over  a  hun- 
dred years,  many  of  which  were  spent  in  litigation  in  the  main- 
taining of  these  rights: 

Still  this  old  hero,  Timothy  Sprague,  at  great  cost  and  sacrifice  of 
time,  always  came  off  victorious.  He  was  greatly  annoyed  and  har- 
assed through  his  life,  which  was  frequently  in  danger.  But  for  this 
unflinching  old  veteran  the  dam  would  long  ago  have  been  removed, 
and  the  pond  have  been  worthless  for  the  puiposes  for  which  it  is  now 
used.  To  the  several  towns  now  enjoying  this  luxury  he  proved  to 
be  a  great  benefactor;  for,  in  fighting  these  battles  for  himself  he 
was  laboring  to  bless  future  generations,  and  is  deserving  of  their 
gratitude.! 

The  high-water  mark  of  the  pond  up  to  the  time  when  it 
was  taken  by  the  iVIetropolitan  Water  Commissioners,  was  one 
hundred  and  forty-three  feet  above  marsh  level,  and  its  area, 
when  full,  was  two  hundred  and  ninety-six  acres.  The  purity^ 
of  its  water  having  been  proven  by  analyzation  caused  Boston 
to  cast  wistful  eyes  toward  it,  previous  to  the  introduction  of 
Cochituate  water  into  Boston  in  1848.  Not  until  1867,  was 
any  action  taken  to  secure  this  natural  reservoir  of  water  to 
the  inhabitants  of  the  surrounding  towns.  In  that  year  Samuel 
PI.  Sewall,  Daniel  W.  Gooch  and  George  W.  Heath,  of  Melrose, 
Pllisha  S.  Converse,  George  P.  Cox,  and  John  H.  Abbott,  of 
Maiden,  and  James  O.  Curtis,  Charles  V.  Bemis  and  Benjamin 
F.  Ha}'es,  of  Medford,  their  associates  atkl  successors 

^  Timothy  Sprague  and  Spot  Poud,  by  Artenias  Barrett,  in  Melrose 
Journal,  January  31,  1885. 


SPOT  POND  WATER  WORKS.  291 

are  hereby  made  a  coq^oration  b}'  the  name  of  the  Spot  Pond  Water 
Company,  for  the  purpose  of  supplj-ing  the  inhabitants  of  said  Melrose, 
Maiden  and  Medford,  with  pure  water. 

More  than  two  years  passed  away  before  anything  was  done 
by  either  Melrose,  Maiden  or  Medford  toward  purchasing  the 
franchise  of  this  Company,  according  to  one  of  the  provisions 
of  the  act,  when  almost  simultaneous  action  was  taken  by  the 
three  towns;  the  Town  Meeting  for  Melrose  being  duly  warned 
for  Friday  evening,  September  24,  1869,  at  Lyceum  Hall,  at 
which  time  the  subject  of  supplying  our  town  with  water  was 
to  be  discussed  and  acted  upon.  At  this  meeting  the  following 
vote  was  passed: 

That  the  town  of  Melrose,  —  the  towns  of  Medford  and  Maiden,  or 
either  of  them,  concurring,  —  purchase  the  franchise  of  the  Spot  Pond 
Water  Company  and  all  its  corporate  property,  according  to  the  pro- 
visions of  an  act  to  incorporate  the  Spot  Pond  Water  Company, 
approved  May  4,  1867.  And  that  a  commission  of  five  be  appointed 
by  this  Town  to  act  in  concurrence  with  commissions  appointed  by 
both  or  either  of  the  other  said  towns.  And  that  said  commissioners 
be  authorized  in  concurrence  with  the  commissioners  of  said  other 
towns,  or  either  of  them,  to  purchase  the  franchise  of  the  Spot  Pond 
Water  Company  and  contract  for  the  building  of  water  works,  at  any 
time  within  one  year  from  this  date,  at  a  cost  to  this  town  for  its 
proportion  of  the  expense  of  said  franchise,  works  at  the  pond,  main 
pipe  to  Warren  Lynde's,  and  street  pipes  for  this  town,  not  exceeding 
the  sum  of  sixty  thousand  dollars  ($60,000).  Said  contracts  to  be 
submitted  to  the  Town  for  ratification  before  being  binding. 

The  following  were  elected  to  act  as  Water  Commissioners: 
Wingate  P.  Sargent,  Jeremiah  Martin,  Elbridge  Green,  Dexter 
Bryant  and  Joel  Snow. 

At  a  Town  Meeting  held  October  7,  1869,  these  Commission- 
ers made  a  report  stating  that  the  works  would  cost  $60,000. 
This  report  was  accepted  and  adopted;  and,  in  conjunction 
with  the  Commissioners  of  Maiden  and  Medford,  the  franchise 
was  purchased  of  the  Spot  Pond  Water  Compan)',  December 
7,  1869,  a  contract  was  made  b\'  the  Commissioners  of  Maiden 
and  Melrose  with  George  H.  Norman,  then  of  Newport,  R.  I., 
for  the  construction  of  the  main  water-works  at  the  pond,  and 
through  Wyoming  Avenue  and  Main  Street  to  the  house  of 
Warren  Lynde;  and  May  10,  1870,  a  contract  was  concluded 
between  the  Town  of  Melrose  and   Mr.  Norman,  to  build  the 


292  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

distributing  works  for  the  town,  to  be  done  on  or  before  Sep- 
tember I,  1870.  As  the  work  progressed  it  was  found  neces- 
sary to  extend  the  works  over  additional  territory  at  a  cost  of 
;^30,000.  The  contractor  completed  his  work,  and  water  was 
let  on  to  the  pipes,  and  the  town  supplied  with  water,  August 
25,  1870,  nearly  a  week  before  the  contract  date.  The  cost  of 
the  works  at  that  date  was  $96,663.56. 

Since  then,  year  after  year,  as  the  town  has  increased  in 
population,  new  construction  pipes  have  been  laid  through  the 
streets,  to  meet  the  demands  of  our  growing  community.- 

Our  local  system  now  consists  of  forty-six  and  one-half 
miles  of  main  distributing  pipes,  varying  in  size  from  ^  inches 
in  diameter  to  16  inches  in  diameter.  Nearly  one-half  of 
these  are  iron  pipes,  and  the  rest  are  cement-lined  pipes;  and 
within  our  territory  there  is  one  and  nine-tenths  miles  of 
48  inch  iron  pipe  laid  by  the  Metropolitan  Water  System;  and 
there  are  3,177  taps  or  service  pipes  supplying  water  to  3,707 
separate  families,  stores,  churches,  factories  and  other  require- 
ments, from  which  the  present  income  to  the  city  is  nearly 
^^50,000  annually.    There  are  now  267  hydrants  for  fire  purposes. 

The  total  cost  of  construction  of  our  local  system  of  water- 
works to  January  31,  1902,  has  been  $425,895.51,  of  which 
$198,895.51  has  been  paid;  leaving  the  present  indebtedness  on 
account  of  water  works  as  follows: 

Water  Loan  Bonds,  series  of  1885,  due  Nov.  i,  1905,  $37,000 
Water  Loan  Bonds,  series  of  1897,  due  May  i,  1907,  50,000 
Water  Loan  Bonds,  series  of  1892,  due  May  i,  1912,  25,000 
Water  Loan  Bonds,  series  of  1892,  due  Sept.  I,  1912,  37,000 
Water  Loan  Bonds,  series  of  1893,  due  Oct.  i,  1913,  50,000 
Water  Loan  Bonds,  series  of  1895,  due  July  i,  1925,         38,000 

Total,     .         .     $237,000 
A  "  Water  Loan   Sinking  Fund  "  was  established  according 
to  a  provision  in  the  original  act,  and  each  year,  after  deduct- 
ing the  cost  of  maintenance  of  the  works,  interest  on  bonds, 

2  At  the  dedication  of  our  Town  the  hue  of   health,   send   vigor   to 

Hall,   October  17,   1874,  George  F.  the  languid  frame  aud  arrest,  as  it 

Stone,    in    his    address    speaks    of  were,  by   nod,   the    devouring  ele- 

Spot   Pond  and  its   supply  as   fol-  ment.    It  brightens  our  landscapes, 

lows :   "  Spot  Pond — hung  as  a  mas-  paints  our  lawns,  ministers  to  vege- 

sive  pearl  upon  our  highest  border,  table  and  animal  life  alike,  and  pro- 

that  by  our  acceptance  of  its  bless-  claims  in  liquid  and  sparkling  tones 

jugs  we  may  tint   the   cheek    with  His  exhaustless  goodness,  new  with 


SPOT  POND  WATER  WORKS.  293 

and  the  payment  of  the  assessment  by  the  Commonwealth, 
from  the  total  receipts  from  water-rates,  the  surplus  is  credited 
to  this  fund.  The  amount  of  this  Sinking  Fund,  January  31, 
1902,  was  $33,762.12,  which  deducted  leaves  the  net  water  debt 
$203,237.38. 

Besides  this,  the  City  is  to  receive  a  large  sum,  hereafter  to 
be  determined,  from  the  Commonwealth,  on  account  of  the 
absorption  of  the  entire  system  of  Spot  Pond  Water  Works  — 
outside  of  our  own  local  system  of  supply  for  the  City  proper 
—  into  the  Metropolitan  Water  System;  which  amount  will  be 
applied,  when  received,  to  our  bonded  water  debt;  thus  making 
a  material  reduction  of  the  same. 

In  1878,  the  following  gentlemen  were  elected  Commis- 
sioners of  Water  Loan  Sinking  Fund,  and  they  have  served, 
by  election  by  the  Town,  and  appointment  by  the  City,  from 
that  date  to  the  present:  Daniel  Russell,  John  W.  Farwell  and 
Royal  P.  Barry;  and  Town  Treasurer,  George  Newhall,  acted 
as  Treasurer  of  the  Fund  until  the  Town  became  a  City,  when 
he  was  succeeded  by  Treasurer  John  Larrabee,  for  1900,  and 
he,  January  i,  1901,  by  his  successor,  William  R.  Lavender, 
Treasurer. 

After  Spot  Pond  had  been  taken  for  the  purpose  of  supply- 
ing Maiden,  Medford  and  Melrose  with  water,  various  suits 
were  brought  against  these  three  municipalities  by  different 
individuals  and  corporations,  for  water  rights,  and  for  divert- 
ing the  overflow  of  water  from  its  usual  channel,  thus  interfer- 
ing with  certain  manufacturing  purposes.  Some  of  these  suits 
were  settled  during  the  year  1875,  others  later.  Those  of 
Simon  H.  Barrett  et  als,  and  George  William  Phillips,  adminis- 
trator for  the  estate  of  David  Dyer,  were  tried  before  a  sheriff's 
jury,  resulting  in  an  award  of  $11,500  and  interest,  to  the 
Barretts,  and  $50,397.78,  interest  included,  to  the  Dyer  estate. 
When  settled  the  total  cost  to  Maiden,  Medford  and  Melrose, 
was   $69,313.73,   one-third    of    which,  $23,104.38,  was    paid    by 

the  rising  sun  and  still  fresh  as  his  picturesque  basin  held  fast  by  that 

beams  gild   our   western    sky  ;  not  Omnipotence  whose  might  secures 

in   a   reservoir   constructed  by  the  the  everlasting  hills,  and  by  whose 

imperfect    hand     of    man,     which  fiat  the  waters  of  the   great   deep 

might    burst    its    artificial    bounds  are    gathered     together!     Distant, 

and   hurrying  with  terrifying  sur-  long  distant,  be  the  day  when  we 

prise   through    hamlet    and    town  shall  be  unmindful  of  this  inestim- 

spread     desolation    and    death    on  able  blessing."     MSS. 
every  hand,  but   in   a  lovely,    and 


294 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


each.  The  claim  of  Anne  C.  Copeland  was  settled  by  Maiden 
and  Melrose,  each  paying  S875,  a  total  of  Si, 750.  That  of 
James  P.  Thorndike,  for  the  Hurd  and  Grundy  Mills,  $1,825, 
which,  with  costs,  amounted  to  ^700  for  each,  Maiden,  Med- 
ford  and  Melrose.  That  of  the  Haywardville  Rubber  Com- 
pany, amounted  to  $14,479.92  and  costs;  each  paying  one-third. 
The  last  lawsuit  of  this  character  was  settled  in  1877;  being 
that  of  Philander  Ames,  who  claimed  damages  for  flowage  of 
land  at  the  head  of  the  Pond.  No  damages  were  awarded. 
The  verdict  was  in  favor  of  the  defendants,  the  three  M's. 

The  total  cost  to  Melrose  for  its  part  in  taking  Spot  Pond, 
the  water  rights  and  land  adjacent  thereto,  has  been  as  follows: 

Cost  of  franchise  in   1871,  (one-third)     .  $133-33 


Land  damage  paid  in  1872, 
Land  damage  paid  in  1873, 
Land  damage  paid  in  1874, 
Land  damage  paid  in  1875, 
Land  damage  paid  in  1876, 
Land  damage  paid  in  1877, 


200.00 
1,800.00 

23.979-58 

6,550.00 

700.00 

850.00 


Total,         .       $34,212.91 

During  the  first  year  in  the  history  of  the  Water  Works, 
Jeremiah  Martin,  one  of  the  Commissioners  served  as  Superin- 
tendent; after  which  Addison  Lane  was  appointed  to  that 
position.  In  1879,  he  was  also  made  Water  Registrar,  and 
continued  to  hold  both  positions  until  1888,  when  Parker  Mer- 
rill was  elected  in  his  place,  and  James  W.  Riley  was  made 
Superintendent  of  construction.  The  next  year  Mr.  Riley  was 
elected  Superintendent  of  Water  Works,  a  position  he  held 
under  the  City  P^ngineer  and  Superintendent  of  Public  Works, 
until  his  death,  December  14,  1901,  and  Parker  Merrill,  Water 
Registrar.  In  1890,  P^lbridge  H.  Goss  was  elected  Water 
Registrar,  who  served  until  1895,  when  he  resigned  and  Levi 
S.  Gould  was  appointed.  He  served  two  years,  when  having 
been  elected  one  of  the  Commissioners  for  Middlesex  County, 
he  resigned  and  Stephen  A.  Lovejoy  was  appointed  to  the  posi- 
tion which  he  held  until  Melrose  became  a  city,  January  i,  1900. 

At  the  Town  Meeting  March  27,  1871,  the  number  of  Water 
Commissioners  was  reduced  from  five  to  three,  and  Wingate  P. 
Sargent,  W.  Irving  Ellis,  and  Joseph  D.  Wilde  were  elected; 
Mr.  Sargent,  chairman.     In    1875,   Mr.  Sargent    resigned,  and 


SPOT  POND  WATER  WORKS.  295 

Joseph  R.  Simonds  was  elected  in  his  place;  Mr.  Wilde,  Chair- 
man. Capt.  Simonds  died  in  1882,  and  Wilbur  D.  Fiske  was 
elected,  to  fill  the  vacancy.  Mr.  Wilde  resi<:,med  in  1883,  when 
Mr.  Sargent  was  ag-ain  elected  and  made  Chairman.  Major 
Ellis  resigned  in  1885,  and  John  R.  Jones  was  elected  in  his 
place.  On  the  death  of  Mr.  Jones  in  1888,  George  L.  Morse  was 
elected.  Mr.  Sargent  resigned  in  1889,  and  William  H.  Miller 
was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy,  and  Maj.  Fiske  was  made  Chair- 
man. In  1891,  George  J.  Bicknell  was  elected.  In  1893,  Mr. 
Miller  resigned,  and  Mr.  Morse  was  again  elected,  and  Mr. 
Bicknell  made  Chairman.  In  1895,  Maj.  Fiske  declined  a  re- 
election and  Curtis  C.  Goss  was  elected  in  his  place.  In  1896, 
Mr.  Bicknell  removed  to  Boston,  and  Frank  W.  Hunt  was 
elected,  and  the   Board   consisted   of  George  L.  Morse,  Curtis 

C.  Goss  and  Frank  W.  Hunt,  George  L.  Morse,  Chairman,  until 
January  i,   1900,  when  the  city  was  incorporated. 

As  there  existed  complaints  from  occupants  of  the  higher 
lands  of  the  town,  concerning  their  supply  of  water,  at  a  Town 
Meeting  held  April  14,  1885,  ^  committee  consisting  of  Joseph 

D.  Wilde,  John  W.  Farwell,  Royal  P.  Barry,  John  B.  Souther 
and  Nathan  D.  Blake,  was  appointed  to  confer  with  the  Water 
Commissioners,  and  consider  the  "  best  method  or  system  by 
which  a  full  and  ample  supply  of  water  can  be  furnished  to  the 
inhabitants." 

A  report  was  made  by  the  Commissioners  which  resulted  in 
the  appointment  of  another  committee  consisting  of  Wingate 
P.  Sargent,  Wilbur  D.  Fiske,  John  R.  Jones,  John  W.  Farwell, 
Nathan  D.  Blake,  John  B.  Souther,  Artemas  Barrett,  Alonzo  V. 
Lynde  and  William  F.  Sherman,  "to  make  full  and  thorough 
investigation  and  report  to  the  town  the  best  system  or  method 
for  supplying  the  town  with  high  water  service,  and  the  cost 
of  the  same."  That  committee  reported,  and  the  result  was 
that  at  a  Town  Meeting  held  Juni-  2,  1885,  it  was  x'otcd: 

That  Wingate  P.  Sargent,  Wilbur  D.  Plske,  John  R.  Jones,  Nathan 
D.  Blake  and  William  F.  Sherman  be  a  committee  with  full  power  and 
authority  to  contract  for  and  cause  to  be  made  a  suitable  reservoir, 
and  such  other  enlargements,  extensions  and  improvements  of  our 
present  water  service  as  will  give  to  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  a  full 
supply  of  water,  provided  the  same  can  be  clone  at  an  expense  not 
exceeding  $37,000. 

This  committee  built  a  reservoir  on  the  highest  point  of  land 


296  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

on    the    east    side    of   Spot    Pond,  into  which   the  water   was 
pumped  by  the  Pumping  Station  on  the  border  of  the  Pond, 
and  made  all  other    necessary  arrangements   for  a    complete 
"  High  Service"  system,  which  was  finished  and  put  into  opera- 
tion in  1886.     From  this  time  Melrose  suffered  not  for  lack  of 
water  until  the  dry  season  of  1894,  when  it  was  found  neces- 
sary, on  account  of  the  lowness  of  the  water  in  Spot  Pond,  to 
take  steps  for  procuring  an  additional  supply  of  water.     Ex- 
periments were  made  by  sinking  artesian  wells  on  the  north- 
erly side  of  Ell   Pond,  and  other  sources  were  examined  and 
considered,  but  not  availed  of.     The  Middlesex  Fells  Springs 
Company  having  established  a  plant  for  furnishing"  pure  water 
from  wells  sunk  on  the  northerly  side  of  Wyoming  Avenue, 
and  west  of  Whittier  Street,  near  the  Ravine  Road,  a  contract 
was  made  between  that  Company  and  the  Water  Commission- 
ers in  behalf  of  Melrose  to  furnish  a  certain  number  of  gallons 
of  water  per  day,  by  pumping  into  our  system  of  pipes.     This 
arrangement  continued  for   nearly  two    years,  from    May  21, 
i8q4  to  May  i,  i8g6,  the  Company  having  furnished  the  Town 
275,245,473  gallons  of  water  at  a  cost  to  the  Town  of  $18,500.60. 
At  that  time.  May  i,  Spot  Pond  again  furnished  all  the  neces- 
sary supply  of  water;    and  now  that  the  great    Metropolitan 
Water  System  has  absorbed  all  the  existing  water  works  with- 
in the  radius  of  ten  miles — the  "  Greater  Boston" — no  further 
lack  of  water  need  be  anticipated  for  generations    to    come. 
Spot  Pond  has  been  taken   into  the    system  as    an    auxiliary 
reservoir  to  supply  the  northern  high-service  district;  and  is 
to  be  kept  constantly  full  by  pumping  from  the  Chestnut  Hill 
Reservoir.     The  elevation  of  the  surface  of  the  water  on  Janu- 
ary I,  1901,  when  only  3.53  feet  below  the  high  water  mark, 
was    159.47    feet    above    Boston    city    base;    and  it  then    con- 
tained 1,450,000,000  gallons;  the  capacity  of  the  full  pond  is 
1,791,000,000  gallons.     Its  capacity  under  the  old  system  was 
758,000,000  gallons. 

As  an  additional  supph',  a  new  reservoir  has  been  built  in 
the  higher  part  of  the  Fells,  a  short  distance  to  the  south  of 
the  high  service  reservoir  which  formerly  supplied  Melrose. 
This  is  for  the  supply  of  Maiden,  Melrose,  Everett  and  Chelsea. 
It  has  an  altitude  of  271  feet  above  the  sea  level,  137  feet  above 
that  of  the  Chestnut  Hill  Reservoir,  and  108  feet  above  Spot 
Pond.     It  has  an  area  of  8.52  acres,  and  a  capacity  of  41,400,000 


SPOT  POND  WATER  WORKS. 


297 


gallons.  It  has  cost  $134,776.32.  To  supply  this  reservoir 
from  Spot  Pond,  a  very  handsome  pumping  station  has  been 
erected  on  what  was  formerly  the  charming  estate  of  Charles 
Copeland,  on  the  shore  of  the  Pond,  at  a  cost,  including  a 
Leavitt  engine  with  pumping  capacity  of  10,000,000  gallons 
daily,  and  a  Holly  engine  with  a  capacity  of  20,000,000  gallons 
daily,  of  $227,196.71.* 

Under  the  provisions  of  the  act  of  1895,  creating  the  Metro- 
politan Water  Board  and  District,  the  following  assessments 
have  been  paid  by  Melrose:  1898,  $3,332.04;  1899,  $4,921.63; 
1900,  $6,740.49;   1901,  $12,546.32. 

In  1890,  cooperative  action  was  taken  by  the  three  munici- 
palities, Maiden,  Medford  and  Melrose,  with  the  view  of  pro- 
tecting the  waters  of  Spot  Pond  from  pollution;  and  at  a 
Special  Town  Meeting  held  July  7,  1891,  the  Town  voted  to 
join  with  Maiden  and  Medford  in  buying  all  the  lands  on  the 
immediate  border  of  the  Pond,  and  appropriated  $20,000  for 
its  third  of  the  total  cost  of  $60,000.  Had  these  cities  and  this 
town  foreseen  that  within  a  very  few  years  this  whole  question 
of  water  supply  would  have  been  absorbed  by  the  action  of  the 
State,  and  placed  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Metropolitan 
Water  Board,  this  united  action  of  the  three  municipalities 
need  never  have  taken  place,  and  this  outlay  of  money  might 
have  been  saved. 


*  Spot  Poud  was  taken  into  this 
new  and  extensive  system  January 
I,  1898,  under  the  authority  of  "  An 
Act  to  Provide  for  a  Metropolitan 
\Vater  Supply,  "  passed  by  the 
Legislature  and  approved  June  5, 
1895.  The  district  of  "Greater 
Boston"  embraced  the  cities  of 
Boston,  Chelsea,  Everett,  Maiden, 
Newton,  vSomerville  and  Medford, 
and  the  towns  of  Belmont,  Hyde 
Park,  Melrose,  Revere,  Watertown 
and  Winthrop.  Since  its  passage 
additional  legislation  has  added  the 
•city  of  Quincy  and  the  towns  of 
Arlington,  Nahant  and  Stoueham 
to  the  district. 

The  total  cost  of  this  great  and 
beneficent  system  thus  far  has  been 
^40,000,000;    and    the  cost   to  each 


municipality  each   year   is  now  a 

follows: 

Boston, 

11,266,809 

Everett,     . 

23.549 

Medford,  . 

19.793 

Newton,    . 

7,400 

Somerville, 

61,571 

Belmont,   . 

4,622 

Nahant,     . 

2,794 

Stonehani, 

6,139 

Winthrop, 

6,738 

Chelsea,     . 

32,045 

Maiden,     . 

33.104 

Melrose,    . 

13.596 

Quincy, 

23.845 

Arlington, 

9.124 

Hyde  Park, 

2,159 

Revere, 

10,892 

Watertown, 

10,620 

298  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

At  a  Town  Meeting  held  December  g,  1897,  this  preliminary 
action  was  taken  on  account  of  the  contemplated  absorption 
of  the  Spot  Pond  Water  Works  into  the  great  Metropolitan 
Water  System: 

Voted,  That  the  water  board,  whenever  the  metropolitan  water 
board  shall  have  taken  the  waters  of  the  south  branch  of  the  Nashua 
River,  and  the  property  of  the  city  of  Boston,  situated  westerly  of  the 
intersections  of  the  main  pipes  to  be  laid  from  Chestnut  Hill  reservoir 
to  Spot  pond,  with  the  main  pipes  which  convey  water  from  the  Mystic 
distributing  reservoir;  also  the  pumping  station  at  Chestnut  Hill  reser- 
voir, and  lands  under  and  surrounding  the  same,  and  the  pipes  and 
aqueducts  leading  thereto;  also  Spot  pond,  so  called,  in  or  near  the 
town  of  Stoneham,  and  the  lands  under  and  surrounding  the  same, 
now  owned  by  the  cities  of  Maiden  and  Medford  and  the  Town  of 
Melrose,  or  either  of  them,  held  for  the  purpose  of  water  supply,  or  of 
protecting  or  preserving  the  purity  of  the  water,  and  the  pumping  sta- 
tions and  pumps  thereon  as  provided  in  Act  of  1895,  Chap.  488,  Sec. 
4,  shall  file  with  said  board,  the  application  of  the  town  for  furnishing 
water  thereto,  as  provided  in  Section  3,  of  said  Chap.  488  of  the 
Acts  of  1895. 

After  the  Spot  Pond  Water  Works  had  been  absorbed  by 
the  Metropolitan  Water  System,  the  following  action  was  taken 
at  a  Town  Meeting  held  March  14,  1898: 

Voted,  That  the  water  commissioners  and  the  following  named  five 
citizens  of  Melrose :  A.  V.  Lynde,  Royal  P.  Barry,  B.  Marvin  Fernald, 
John  W.  Farwell  and  George  R.  Jones,  be  a  committee  to  represent 
the  town  in  all  matters  pertaining  to  the  taking  of  its  water  supply  by 
the  commonwealth,  any  portion  thereof,  or  interest  therein ;  the  said 
committee  have  full  power  and  authority  to  negotiate  for  a  settlement, 
and  adjust  all  claims  of  said  town  against  the  Commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts  with  the  metropolitan  board  of  water  commissioners,  to 
agree  upon  a  price  for  the  same.  Said  committee  shall  not  bind  the 
town  by  any  final  adjudication  as  to  the  value  of  any  of  its  rights  so 
taken,  vmtil  the  same  has  been  reported  back  to  the  town,  and  duly 
approved  by  it,  but  may  accept  partial  payment  on  account  of  said 
damages,  then  to  cause  proper  petition  or  action  therein  to  be  brought 
to  recover  damages  for  taking  of  said  property. 

The  same  committee  remained  in  force  through  the  year 
1899;  s"*^!  when  the  City  Government  was  inaugurated,  a 
Special  Committee  on  Settlement  with  the  Metropolitan  Water 
Board  was  appointed,  consisting  of  Aldermen   JJowes,  Moore,. 


SPOT  POND  WATER  WORKS.  299 

Carrie,  Shepard  and  Goss.  The  same  Committee  was  ap- 
pointed for  the  year  1901,  with  one  change;  Elbridge  H.  Goss 
took  the  place  of  Curtis  C.  Goss.  Later,  April  6,  Alderman 
Charles  N.  Shute  was  added  to  this  Committee. 

As  the  proper  time  had  not  arrived,  no  action  was  taken  by 
the  Committee  appointed  by  the  Town,  March  14,  1898,  neither 
by  the  Special  Aldermanic  Committee  of  1900;  but,  during  the 
year  1901,  His  Honor.  John  Larrabee,  Mayor,  City  Solicitor 
Frank  L.  Washburn,  and  the  Aldermanic  Committee,  and  the 
representatives  of  the  cities  of  Maiden  and  Medford,  equally 
interested  with  Melrose,  met  the  Metropolitan  Water  and 
Sewerage  Board,^  acting  for  the  Commonwealth,  with  the  view 
of  obtaining  terms  which  should  be  satisfactory  to  all  three 
municipalities. 

After  that  the  Mayor  and  City  Solicitor  were  authorized  on 
behalf  of  Melrose,  to  continue  these  negotiations,  the  result  of 
which  was  communicated  to  the  Board  of  Aldermen  at  its 
meeting  October  7,  1901,  by  the  following  correspondence: 

City  of  Melrose, 
Mayor's  Office,  October  7,  1901. 
To  the  Honorable,  the  Boai'd  of  Aldermen,  Alelrose,  Mass. 

Gentlemen: — I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith  a  copy  of 
letter  received  from  the  Metropolitan  Water  and  Sewerage  Board,  in 
which  a  direct  offer  is  made  by  the  Board  to  the  City  of  Melrose 
in  full  for  its  claims  against  the  Commonwealth  by  reason  of  the  tak- 
ing of  Spot  Pond  and  lands  under  and  surrounding  the  same,  and  for 
the  pumping  station,  pumps,  etc.,  said  offer  amounting,  with  interest 
allowed,  to  nearly  $93,000.00.  I  have  met  on  several  occasions  repre- 
sentatives of  the  cities  of  Maiden  and  Medford  in  conference,  and  at 
hearings  before  the  Metropolitan  Board ;  so  far  as  I  am  able  to  learn 
the  cities  mentioned,  who  have  a  joint  interest  with  us,  are  not 
prepared  to  settle  on  the  terms  proposed. 

1  therefore  suggest  that  the  matter  be  referred  to  the  Special 
Committee  already  appointed  by  your  Board,  with  such  authority  in 
the  premises  as  in  your  judgment  may  deem  best. 

1-lespectfully  yours, 

John  Larrahee,  Mayor. 

*  The  Metropolitan  Water  Board  consolidated  in  one  Board  by  act  of 
and  Metropolitan  vSewer  Board  were       Legislatnre,  March  20,  1901. 


500  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts. 

Metropolitan  Water  and  Sewerage  Board. 

I   Ashburton  Place. 

Boston,  August  9,  1901. 
Jlon.  John  Larrabee^  Mayor  of  Melrose. 

My  Dear  Sir: — -The  Metropolitan  Water  and  Sewerage  Board 
Tiave  taken  into  consideration  the  claims  of  the  City  of  Melrose  by 
reason  of  the  taking  of  Spot  Pond  and  the  lands  under  and  surround- 
ing the  same,  owned  by  the  cities  of  Maiden,  Medford  and  Melrose,  or 
either  of  them,  held  for  the  purpose  of  water  supply,  or  of  protecting 
or  preserving  the  purity  of  the  water,  and  the  pumping  stations  and 
pumps  thereon,  as  required  by  the  Metropolitan  Water  Act  of  1895. 

The  Board  will  pay  to  the  City  of  Melrose  in  full  for  its  claims,  in- 
cluding its  share  under  the  joint  claims  of  the  three  cities,  the  sum  of 
$89,669.54,  with  interest  at  the  rate  of  three  and  one-half  per  cent,  per 
annum  from  November  i,  1900. 

This  includes  the  tools  and  supplies  on  the  premises  when  taken  by 
the  Board,  the  value  of  which  is  estimated  at  $600.  This  sum  so  far 
as  we  have  been  able  to  determine  from  the  exhibits  furnished  by  you, 
is  the  amount  paid  by  the  City  of  Melrose  on  account  of  the  works 
and  property  taken  by  the  Board. 

The  settlement  with  the  City  of  Boston  for  like  claims  was  made 
upon  the  basis  above  proposed.  The  Board  does  not  feel  that  it 
should  pay  for  property  not  taken,  although  such  property  was  used 
by  the  city  as  a  portion  of  its  water  works.  The  city  of  Boston  was 
not  paid  for  similar  works,  nor  indeed  was  it  paid  for  the  Mystic 
works  which  were  taken.  Water  works  belonging  to  several  other 
municipalities  in  the  District  have  been  found  useless  by  them  since 
the  introduction  of  the  Metropolitan  Supply,  and  have  been  necessa- 
rily abandoned,  but  in  no  instance  have  such  works  been  paid  for  by 
the  Metropolitan  Water  Board. 

The  Board  trusts  that  this  offer  will  be  acceptable  to  the  City  of 
Melrose,  and  that  a  speedy  settlement  may  be  made  with  the  city  upon 
this  basis.  Yours  very  truly, 

Henry  H.  Sprague,  Chairman. 

The  offer  for  settlement  made  by  the  Metropolitan  Water 
Board  has  not  yet  been  accepted.  In  conjunction  with  the 
other  interested  cities,  Maiden  and  Medford,  further  negotia- 
tions are  in  progress. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 
SEWERAGE. 

THE  act  establishing-  the  Metropolitan  Sewerage  System- 
was  passed  by  the  Massachusetts  Legislature,  June  7,. 
1889.  It  was  entitled  "  An  Act  to  provide  for  the 
Building,  Maintenance  and  Operation  of  a  System  of  Sewage 
Disposal  for  the  Mystic  and  Charles  River  Valleys."  Section 
3,  in  part,  authorized  the  construction  of  a  Main  Sewer,  under 
the  direction  of  the  Metropolitan  Sewer  Commissioners,  for 
the  cities  of  Boston,  Cambridge,  Somerville,  Maiden,  Chelsea, 
Woburn,  Medford,  Everett,  and  the  towns  of  Stoneham,  Mel- 
rose, Winchester,  Arlington,  Belmont  and  Winthrop,  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  plans  reported  and  recommended  by  the 
State  Board  of  Health,  in  its  report  to  the  Legislature  in  1889. 

Under  this  act  the  State,  by  its  Sewer  Commissioners,  at 
once  began  to  build  these  works;  and  in  due  time  the  initia- 
tory steps  were  taken  to  enable  Melrose  to  participate  in  this 
great  public  benefit. 

At  a  Town  Meeting  held  April  25,  1892,  it  was  voted  that  a 
committee  consisting  of  the  Selectmen,  Levi  S.  Gould,  John  P. 
Deering  and  Charles  W.  Higgins,  together  with  George  L. 
Morse,  John  Robson,  Charles  W.  Cook  and  Francis  S.  Hessel- 
tine,  be  appointed 

to  consider  the  whole  question  of  sewerage  for  this  town,  the  work  to 
be  done,  the  cost,  system  or  plan  to  be  adopted,  how  the  expense  of 
same  shall  be  borne,  whether  betterments  shall  be  assessed  upon 
estates  or  not,  and  that  they  be  requested  to  report  with  recommenda- 
tions at  the  next  town  meeting. 

On  the  22d  of  October  following,  the  Town  \otc(l: 

That  the  treasurer  be  authorized  to  borrow  a  sum  not  exceeding 
$1500,  to  be  expended  under  the  direction  of  the  committee  on  sewer- 
age for  the  purpose  of  obtaining  plans,  specifications,  etc.,  for  a  sewer- 
age system  for  this  town. 


302  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

This  committee  made  its  report  January  4,  1894,  in  print;  in 
a  pamphlet  of  47  pages,  containing  not  only  their  own  report, 
but  that  of  the  engineer,  Walter  C.  Stevens,  who  had  been 
employed  by  the  committee  to  make 

a  map  of  the  entire  sewerage  system,  comprising  all  streets,  both  pub- 
lic and  private,  to  date ;  a  set  of  profile  plans  in  detail ;  specifications, 
estimates,  etc.;  all  of  which  your  committee  believe  to  be  thorough 
and  complete,  and  in  strict  accordance  with  your  instructions. 

The  engineer  in  making  his  estimates,  divided  the  Town  into 
nine  sections,  giving  the  pipe  lines  in  detail  and  the  estimated 
cost  of  construction  of  the  sewers  by  section;  and  the  commit- 
tee's recommendation  was  that  the  Town 

should  only  authorize  such  sections  to  be  built  from  year  to  year  as 
may  be  considered  absolutely  necessary  for  the  health  and  comfort  of 
our  citizens,  otherwise  a  financial  burden  might  be  created  which  it 
would  be  unpleasant  to  contemplate. 

Under  the  general  plan  thus  recommended  by  the  committee 
the  work  was  duly  begun.  May  14,  1894,  was  continued,  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  three  Sewer  Commissioners,  which  were 
chosen  at  the  Annual  Meeting,  held  March  5,  1894,  in  accord- 
ance with  Chap.  417,  Acts  of  1893,  relating  to  the  election  of 
Sewer  Commissioners,  and  which  had  been  accepted  at  the 
Town  Meeting  held  January  4,  1894,  until  January  i,  1900, 
when  Melrose  became  a  city,  and  Sewer  Commissioners  were 
no  longer  elected.  These  Commissioners  were:  Seth  E.  Ben- 
son, elected  for  three  years,  L.  Frank  Hinckley,  for  two  years, 
and  John  Larrabee,  for  one  year. 

During  the  first  year  sewer  bonds  were  issued  to  the  extent 
of  $100,000,  by  authority  of  the  Legislature,  Chap.  323,  Acts  of 
1894. 

In  1895,  John  Larrabee  was  re-elected  for  three  years,  and 
the  Sewer  Department  was  organized  as  follows:  Seth  E. 
Benson,  Chairman;  L.  Frank  Hinckley  and  John  Larrabee, 
Commissioners;  Walter  C.  Stevens,  Engineer;  W.  Dabney 
Hunter,  Superintendent  of  Construction.  Mr.  Hunter  acted 
as  an  Inspector  during  the  first  year. 

During  this  year  the  Legislature  authorized  an  additional 
issue  of  sewer  bonds  to  the  extent  of  $100,000. 

The  sections  thus  far  completed  were  connected  with  the 
main  sewer  of  the  North  Metropolitan  Sewerage  System,  June 


SEWERAGE.  308 

I,  1895,  ^"d  from  that  time  house  connections  were  made  as 
rapidly  as  applied  for,  as  they  have  been  with  the  sections 
since  completed  year  by  year.  In  1896,  L.  Frank  Hinckley 
was  re-elected  for  three  years.  W.  Dabney  Hunter  was  made 
Chief  Engineer  and  Superintendent,  and  Clarence  T.  Fernald, 
First  Assistant  Engineer. 

Those  portions  of  the  Town  of  Wakefield  known  as  Green- 
wood and  Boyntonville,  having  petitioned  to  be  admitted  to 
the  Metropolitan  Sewerage  system,  hearings  were  held  which 
resulted  in  an  act  passed  by  the  Legislature,  under  the  provis- 
ions of  which  the  State  purchased  of  the  Town  of  Melrose,  the 
trunk  sewer  which  connects  with  the  State  sewer  in  Wyoming 
Avenue,  running  thence  through  Berwick,  Grove,  Myrtle,  Essex 
and  Tremont  Streets  to  a  point  near  Lake  Avenue,  paying 
therefor  the  actual  cost  to  the  Town,  and  built  the  remainder 
of  the  line  through  Tremont,  Melrose,  Belmont,  Franklin  and 
Greenwood  Streets  to  the  Wakefield  line;  thus  these  sections 
of  the  Town  of  Wakefield  have  been  accommodated,  and  are 
receiving  the  same  benefits  as  if  they  had  originally  belonged 
to  the  Metropolitan  district. 

In  1897,  Seth  E.  Benson  was  re-elected  fo^  three  years,  and 
the  organization  of  the  Board  of  Sewer  Commissioners  re- 
mained the  same.  Messrs.  Hinckley  and  Larrabee,  by  re-elec- 
tion as  their  terms  expired,  served  through  1898  and  1899, 
until  Melrose  became  a  city. 

During  this  year,  1897,  the  Legislature  authorized  an  addi- 
tional issue  of  $100,000  sewer  bonds.  The  total  issue  of  bonds 
on  account  of  sewer  construction  has  been  $350,000,  as  follows: 
$100,000  dated  1894,  payable  in  thirty  years;  $100,000  dated 
1895,  payable  in  thirty  years;  $50,000  dated  1896,  payable  in 
thirty  years;  $100,000  dated  1897,  $25,000  of  which  is  payable 
in  ten  years,  $25,000  in  fifteen  years,  and  $50,000  in  twent}- 
}ears;  all  bearing  interest  at  the  rate  of  four  per  cent,  per 
annum. 


304  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

vSEU'ERS    BUILT   TO    FEBRUARY   1,    1902. 


SIZE. 

lyENGTH   IN   FEET. 

Inches. 

1894. 

1895. 

1896. 

1897. 

1808. 

1899. 

1900. 

Totals. 

6 

8 

10 

12.      ... 

14,004.16 
5,489.89 
1,508.02 
949.95 
354.80 
2,715.0" 
2,788.80 
1  213  10 

20,41 1.06 
8,020.03 
4,968.55 
1,250.69 

26,179.93 

15,505.79 

2,152.38 

2,407.62 

22,916.40 

11,817.90 

2,946.60 

5,672.64 

3  121  73 

2,512.00 
1,424.00 

4,662.40 
1,530.10 
1,067.00 

839.00 
2,429.00 
2,796.00 

91,525.55 
46,166,71 
15,488.55 
10,280.90 
3  476.53 

If,. 

18 

317  66 

9  117  10 

5,149.83 
2  788.30 

20 

24 

1,213.10 

BRICK. 
20  X  18- 

8,034.94   

1 .  . 

3,034.94 

ni.oo 

9() 

111.00 
28.00 

...          1 

24 

28.00 

Totals  . 

29,112.29 

34,650.93 

46,563.38    56,627.31  3,936.00 

7,259.50 

6,064.00 

*179,213.41 

*  Total  length  of  sewers,  179,213.41  feet,  or  33.94  miles,  2.4  miles  of  which  are 
owned  and  controlled  by  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts,  but  by  an  act  of 
the  Legislature  Melrose  is  permitted  to  use  in  the  same  manner  as  local  sewers. 

At  a  Town  Meetinj;^-  held  March  21,  1895,  '^  was  voted: 

That  when  this  meeting  adjourns  it  shall  be  to  Monday  evening, 
April  8,  1895;  that  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  to  act  in  con- 
jimction  with  the  Sewer  Commissioners  in  the  consideration  of  plans 
for  the  assessment  and  apportionment  of  the  estimated  cost  of  the 
sewer  and  report  at  said  adjourned  meeting. 

This  committee  consisted  of  Levi  S.  Gould,  Moses  S.  Page, 
Royal  P.  Barry,  George  L.  Morse  and  George  J.  Bicknell. 
This  committee  reported  June  10,  1895,  ^  system  of  assessment, 
and  apportionment  which  was  adopted  by  the  Town;  but  as 
this  action  was  based  on  a  partial  knowledge  of  the  cost  of  the 
whole  system,  it  was  deemed  best  not  to  act  in  the  matter  until 
the  building  of  the  sewers  should  be  more  nearly  completed; 
consequently  no  further  action  was  taken  until  the  Town  Meet- 
ing which  was  held  April  7,  1896,  when  the  following  vote  was 
passed: 

That  a  committee  of  five  citizens  be  appointed  to  act  in  conjunction 
with  the  Sewer  Commissioners  [Seth  E.  Ben.son,  L.  Frank  Hinckley 
and  John  Larrabee]  to  take  into  consideration  matters  in  connection 
with  the  levying  of  sewer  assessments,  and  that  the  Commissioners  be 
instructed  to  defer  the  levying  of  assessments  until  further  action  of 
the  Town. 


SEWERAGE.  305 

The  following  were  appointed  by  the  Moderator:  Royal 
P.  Barry,  Eugene  H.  Moore,  George  L.  Morse,  Moses  S.  Page, 
William  N.  Folsom,  George  R.  Jones  and  William  A.  Burrell. 

As  this  was  a  very  important  matter,  it  was  considered  b\' 
this  committee  very  carefully,  and,  after  mature  deliberation, 
its  report  was  made  at  the  Town  Meeting  held  March  21, 
1898,  and  was  accepted.  At  an  adjourned  meeting,  held 
March  28,  this  report  was  debated,  amended  and  adopted  as 
follows: 

That  one-half  of  the  estimated  cost  of  all  the  Sewers  shall  be  paid 
by  the  Town.  One-half  of  the  said  estimated  cost  shall  be  assessed 
upon  the  estates  directly  benefited,  wherever  the  sewer  shall  be  laid, 
by  the  frontage  and  area  plan  combined,  viz  :  Twenty  cents  to  be 
assessed  on  each  foot  of  lot  frontage  of  estates  or  any  street  or  way 
wherever  a  sewer  is  constructed.  Five  (5)  mills  per  square  foot  upon 
the  area  of  said  estates  extending  back  to  a  depth  of  one  hundred  (100) 
feet  from  the  front  of  same.  Upon  all  corner  lots,  assessment  for  lot 
frontage  shall  be  levied  as  before  stated,  upon  the  whole  frontage  of 
such  estate  which  abuts  on  the  street  where  a  sewer  is  first  constructed, 
and  when  a  sewer  is  constructed  on  the  other  street  or  streets,  or  ways 
upon  which  such  corner  lots  or  estates  abut,  an  exemption,  as  may  be 
determined  by  the  Sewer  Commissioners,  of  not  exceeding  Fifty  (50) 
feet  of  the  frontage  assessment  shall  be  made  on  such  streets  or  ways, 
and  the  assessments,  as  before  provided,  shall  be  levied  on  all  the  rest 
of  the  frontage  on  such  streets  or  ways.  Upon  such  estates  as  shall 
receive  a  direct  benefit  from  the  sewer,  and  have  no  assessable  lot 
frontage,  and  are  not  located  within  one  hundred  (roo)  feet  of  a  street 
or  way,  such  an  amount  of  the  area  of  said  estate  shall  be  assessed  as 
may  be  deemed  just  and  reasonable  by  the  Board  of  Sewer  Commis- 
sioners, for  the  benefit  received. 

By  the  action  of  the  Sewer  Commissioners,  under  the  author- 
ity of  the  State  Law,  the  payment  of  the  sewer  assessments 
has  been  so  arranged  as  to  bear  as  lightly  as  possible  upon 
tax-payers.  It  was  left  optional  with  each  citizen,  to  make 
the  whole  amount  assessed  in  one  payment,  or,  apportioned 
into  ten  equal  parts,  one  part  payable  aiinuallN',  the  parts  re- 
maining unpaid  {o  flraw  interest  at  the  rate  of  five  per  cent, 
per  annum. ^ 

1  Further  facts  concerning  the  found  in  tlie  reports  of  the  Boanl 
cost  of  our  Sewerage  system,  to-  of  Sewer  Conitnissiouers,  Messrs. 
gether  with  other  details,   may  be       Benson,    Hinckley    and     Larrabee, 


806 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Our  excellent  system  of  sewers  was  constructed  at  a  cost  of  about 
$360,000.  The  additions  of  portions  of  Wakefield  and  Stoneham  to 
the  Metropolitan  System  gave  to  Melrose  the  opportunity  to  dispose 
of  the  hne  running  through  Myrtle,  Essex  and  Tremont  Streets  to  the 
State,  the  right  being  reserved  to  connect  house  or  lateral  sewers. 
Since  that  time  a  line  has  been  constructed  from  Tremont  street  to 
Stoneham,  and  there  is  in  process  of  construction  a  line  from  Wake- 
field, in  all  of  which  important  privileges  are  given  to  Melrose,  which 
will  result  in  a  saving  in  the  cost  of  our  local  system,  estimated  at 
$40,000  to  $45,000.- 

The  system  at  present  comprises  33.94  miles  of  constructed 
sewers.  On  the  streets  through  which  these  are  situated  there 
are  about  2,500  buildings,  2,028  of  which  have  been  connected 
with  the  sewer.  Owners  of  property  have  very  generally 
made  the  request  for  these  connections,  showing  that  the 
public  estimates  the  system  as  an  economic  and  healthful 
measure. 

The  act  of  the  Legislature  authorizing  Melrose  to  build  its 
sewer  system,  required  a  sinking  fund  to  be  established,  for 
the  payment  of  the  bonds  as  they  mature.  This  was  done, 
and  the  various  sums  that  have  been  added  to  this  fund 
amounted  to  $88,286.62,  on  January  31,  1902,  which  deducted 
from  bonded  debt  of  $350,000  leaves  present  sewerage  debt 
$261,713.38.  On  July  9,  1901,  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  made 
an  additional  appropriation  of  $15,000,  for  the  extension  of  the 
sewer  system  throughout  the  settled  portion  of  the  north- 
eastern section  of  the  City;  also  to  enter  it  on  Henry  Avenue 
at  the  Highlands,  and  Corey  Place  at  Wyoming. 

The  commissioners  appointed  by  a  decree  of  the  Supreme 
Court .  of  Massachusetts,  to  determine  and  apportion  the 
amount  to  be  paid  annually  for  the  next  five  years,  beginning 
with  1901,  by  the  cities  and  towns  in  this  Metropolitan  Sewer- 
age System,  to  meet  interest  and  sinking  fund  requirements, 
and  also  to  pay  cost  of  maintenance  and  operation,  in  their  re- 
port gave  the  proportion  for  Melrose  as  $7,355-74  and  $2,372.50 
respectively;  a  total  of  $9,728.24.  The  amount  paid  by  Mel- 
rose for  1900,  was  $9,431.01;  for  1901,  $9,727.23;  for  1902, 
$10,561.13. 


and  Chief   Engineer   and    Superin-  Engineer   and    Superintendent    of 

tendent,    W.    Dabney    Hunter,    in  Public  Works  for  1900  and  1901. 

their  reports   of   1899.     Additional  -z  proui  the  Inaugural  Address  of 

matter  is  given  in  the  report  of  the  Mayor  Larrabee,  January  7th,  1901. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 
DRAINAGE   AND   HEALTH. 

FOR  many  years  previous  to  1870,  the  growth  of  Melrose 
was  impeded  by  the  fact  that  much  of  the  land  in  the 
valley  at  the  southern  part  of  the  town  was  constantly 
overflowed  by  a  large  body  of  water,  caused  by  the  existence 
of  what  came  to  be  known  as  the  "  Dyer  Dam."  This  dam 
was  situated  in  Maiden,  on  the  main  stream  formed  by  the 
united  waters  of  Spot  Pond,  Ell  Pond  and  Shilly  Shally 
Brooks,  near  where  the  present  Mountain  Avenue  crosses  it.^ 
Before  the  taking  of  Spot  Pond  by  the  three  towns.  Maiden, 
Medford  and  Melrose  for  their  water  supply,  in  1870,  there 
was  a  large  overflow  of  water,  supplying  Spot  Pond  Brook 
continuously;  and  in  the  earlier  days  Shilly  Shally  Brook, 
the  feeder  of  the  Cascade  on  Washington  Street,  also  had  a 
continuous  supply;  of  late  years  the  sources  of  this  brook  fail 
during  a  portion  of  the  seasons. 

An  attempt  was  made  as  early  as  1857,  to  have  this  overflow 
of  water  remedied;  when,  at  a  Town  Meeting  held  March  2, 
the  following  action  was  taken: 

On  motion  of  L.  H.  M.  Cochran,  Resolved:  That  it  is  wise  and  ex- 
pedient for  the  Town  to  take  active  measures  for  draining  off  the  sur- 
plus water  which  now  submerges  so  large  a  portion  of  the  territory  of 
the  Town,  to  the  great  injury  of  the  health,  character  and  prosperity 
of  its  citizens,  by  widening  and  deepening  the  ditches  from  the  High- 
lands and  the  outlets  of  Ell  Pond  to  the  southern  extremity  of  the 
Town  line;  and  in  such  other  manner  as  the  Committee  may  deem 
advisable  and  to  prevent  the  damming  up  of  the  water  by  the  Flouring 
Mills,  late  the  Odiorne  Mills,  in  the  Town  of  Maiden,  beyond  the 
legal  rights  of  the  Proprietors  of  said  Mills ;  and  that  a  committee  of 

1  Time  was,  before  hal)itatioii  and  Streams  have  met  and  "pledged 
industrial  pursuits  had  interfered  eternal  friendship  and  passed  on 
with  the  purity  of  the  water,  when  united,  singing,  looking  up  blue- 
it    might    have    been    said  :     these  eyed  toward  heaven." 


308  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

no  less  than  three  nor  more  than  five  competent  citizens  of  Melrose  be 
chosen  to  carry  into  effect  the  wishes  of  the  Town  as  herein  expressed, 
with  all  reasonable  prudence  and  dispatch,  and  at  the  expense  of  said 
Town  ;  and  for  this  purpose  it  is  voted  that  the  sum  of  $i  ,500  be  raised 
and  appropriated  and  paid  by  the  Treasurer  of  the  Town  on  the  draft 
of  said  Committee,  at  such  times  as  the  money  may  be  needed. 
Voted,  that  German  S.  Phippen,  Samuel  O.  Dearborn  and  Caleb 
Howard  be  a  Committee  to  attend  to  the  duties  of  the  above  Resolve, 
and  motion,  and  they  are  instructed  to  attend  to  that  duty  as  soon  as 
practicable. 

February  18,  1858,  a  vote  was  passed  authorizing  the  appoint- 
ment of  an  agent  to  procure  legal  counsel  to  act  with  this 
committee  in  this  matter  of  drainage,  in  defending  the  Town 
and  its  citizens  in  any  action  that  might  grow  out  of  this 
attempt  to  remove  this  nuisance.  Nelson  Cochran  was  elected 
to  act  in  this  position.  Meanwhile  various  changes  had  taken 
place  in  the  Committee;  Messrs.  Dearborn  and  Howard  had 
resigned,  and  Edmund  B.  Southwick  and  William  J.  Farnsworth 
were  elected  in  their  places;  Mr.  Farnsworth  resigned  and 
Joseph  Holbrook  was  substituted.  And  this,  so  far  as  the 
Town  records  show,  was  all  that  was  done  towards  remedying 
the  evil. 

Year  after  year  went  by,  and  still  the  many  acres  of  land 
forming  the  southern  end  of  the  Melrose  valley,  were  sub- 
merged with  Ell,  Spot  Pond  and  Shilly  Shally  Brook  waters. 
But  in  1869,  a  determined  effort  was  initiated  for  the  removal 
of  this  great  and  long  existing  evil  —  this  standing  menace  to 
the  health  of  our  citizens;   the  power  of  the  State  was  invoked. 

A  petition  was  circulated  and  presented  to  the  General 
Court,  by  Levi  S.  Gould,  who  was  the  Representative  of  this 
District  at  that  time,  which  resulted  in  the  passage  of  "  An 
Act  relating  to  drainage  in  the  towns  of  Maiden  and  Melrose," 
which  was  approved  June  11,  1869,  the  first  section  of  which 
was  as  follows: 

The  county  commissioners  of  the  county  of  Middlesex  are  hereby 
authorized  and  directed  to  take  and  lay  out  such  land,  water-courses 
and  water-rights,  dams  and  other  real  estate,  or  interests,  or  easements, 
or  rights  therein,  or  on  the  adjoining  streams  or  brooks  running  from 
Ell  Pond  in  Melrose  and  Spot  Pond  in  Stoneham,  to  the  tide-water  in 
Maiden,  as  they  shall  deem  necessary  for  the  puq:)Oses  of  proper 
drainage  and  the  public  health;  and  they  are  also  authorized,  for  the 
same  purposes,  to  control  the  damming  up  and  letting  off  the  waters 


DRAINAGE  AND  HEALTH.  309 

of  said  ponds.  And  they  may  change,  widen,  straighten  and  deepen 
the  channels  of  said  brooks  and  streams,  and  remove  all  dams  and 
other  obstructions  therefrom,  and  use  and  appropriate  said  brooks  or 
streams,  in  such  manner  as  they  shall  deem  necessary  for  the  purposes 
aforesaid. 

The  rest  of  the  act  refers  to  betterments,  assessments,  war- 
rants of  distress  and  suits  for  damages;  and  the  whole  was 
made  subject  to  acceptance  by  vote  of  the  towns  of  Maiden 
-and  Melrose. 

An  act  in  addition  thereto  was  passed  by  the  Legislature, 
May  9,  1870.  At  a  Town  Meeting  held  November  8,  1870, 
the  Town  voted  that  the  Water  Commissioners,  Wingate  P. 
Sargent,  Jeremiah  Martin,  Dexter  Bryant,  Joel  Snow  and 
Elbridge  Green,  be  a  committee  to  act  in  this  matter,  and  in 
connection  with  any  committee  that  Maiden  might  appoint, 
apply  to  the  County  Commissioners,  and  ask  them  to  take 
action  in  conformity  to  the  Acts  of  the  Legislature. 

The  County  Commissioners  at  once  held  several  hearings; 
and  on  the  28th  of  March,  1871,  they  ordered  the  dam  removed^ 
forthwith,  deeming  it  "necessary  for  the  purposes  of  proper 
drainage  and  the  public  health;  "  ordering  also  that  the  streams 
and  brooks  "  should  be  located,  and  their  courses  and  widths 
described;"  appointing  as  agents  for  this  service  Albert  T. 
Sargent,  of  Maiden,  and  Jeremiah  Martin,  of  Melrose.  All 
this  work  was  done  in  due  time;  the  dam  was  taken  down 
March  31,  1871;  the  necessary  surveys  were  made,  and  bound- 
aries fixed. 

This  dam  at  Rlack  Rock,  on  Mountain  Avenue,  Maiden, 
caused  the  water  to  flow  back  as  far  as  the  present  Wyoming 
Station;  and  m  winter,  such  was  the  wet  and  marshy  formation 
then  existing  up  along  where  now  runs  the  Boston  &  Maine 
railroad,  that  skaters  —  among  them  Levi  S.  Gould  —  have 
skated  from  the  dam  to  the  Highlands. 

A  petition  to  the  County  Commissioners,  claiming  damages 
on  account  of  taking  down  this  dam,  was  made  by  Mr.  Dyer, 
February  20,  1872,  but  no  damages  were  awarded.  Another, 
asking  for  a  jury  to  determine  the  matter  of  his  complaint,  was 
presented  to  the  Board  March  26,  1872;  and,  before  any  action 
was  taken  thereon,  Mr.  Dyer  died.  In  May,  1875,  George 
William  Phillips,  administrator  of  the  Dyer  estate,  petitioned 
the  Commissioners,  "desiring  to  revive  and  prosecute  said  last 


310  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

named  petition  of  his  intestate,"  also  asking  for  a  jury.  A 
copy  of  this  petition  was  sent  to  our  Selectmen,  Walter  Babb, 
Henry  G.  Fields  and  George  A.  Mansfield,  and  they  appeared 
at  the  hearing.  Arguments  were  made,  pro  and  con,  and  the 
petition  dismissed.  Still  the  matter  was  unsettled  and  several 
long  and  protracted  hearings  were  held  in  the  September 
following.  The  aim  was  "to  show  that  no  damages  should  be 
awarded  to  the  Dyer  heirs,  as  they  had  been  fully  compensated 
by  the  payment  of  a  large  sum  for  the  Spot  Pond  water,  [see 
'  Spot  Pond  Water  Works']  and  without  this  privilege  their 
dam  was  worthless;"  and  the  Commissioners  sustained  this 
view  of  the 'matter,  and  awarded  no  damages.  It  was  also 
contended  that  the  improved  land  which  the  drainage  had  left 
was  worth  more  to  them  than  before  its  removal. 

The  "  Report  and  Award  of  the  County  Commissioners," 
was  made  December  21,  1875.  The  costs  as  determined  by 
them  in  this  matter,  were  for  Maiden  $3,165.05,  and  for  Melrose 
^^4,105. 55 

Still  Mr.  Phillips,  in  behalf  of  the  Dyer  estate,  pursued  this 
case  by  taking  it  to  the  Supreme  Court,  in  1876,  and  it  was 
again  decided  for  the  defendants;  and  in  October,  1877,  the 
case  was  again  tried  before  a  sheriff's  jury,  at  the  Court  House, 
in  East  Cambridge,  lasting  five  days,  resulting  in  a  disagree- 
ment of  the  jury.  A  second  trial  followed  in  December,  be- 
fore a  new  jury,  when  it  was  again,  and  finally,  decided  for  the 
defendants.  Thus  was  the  long  drawn  out  case  ended;  and  in 
the  Annual  Report  for  1877-78,  the  Selectmen  were  enabled 
to  say: 

This  case  which  has  been  before  the  Courts,  the  County  Commis- 
sioners and  town  meetings  for  so  many  years,  has  at  last,  let  us  hope, 
reached  a  final  conclusion,  the  justice  of  which  is  apparent  to  every- 
body at  all  conversant  with  the  facts. 

In  later  years,  encroachments  having  been  made  by  the 
building  of  another  dam,  a  short  distance  below  the  old  one, 
by  wrongly  built  culverts,  and  numerous  other  obstructions, 
an  appeal  was  again  made  in  1890,  to  the  County  Commission- 
ers for  authority  to  remove  all  such,  arrd  to  maintain  the 
channels  in  proper  condition.  March  3,  1890,  the  Town  ap- 
pointed a  committee  consisting  of  George  T.  Brown,  John  B. 
Souther,  Norman  F.  Hesseltine,  Seth  E.  Benson  and  Walter  C. 


DRAINAGE  AND  HEALTH.  311 

Stex'ens,  the  Selectmen  ro  cooperate,  to  iiu'estigate  the  matter 
and  report  what  in  their  judgment  is  for  the  best  interests  of 
the  town  to  do. 

At  a  Town  Meeting  held  June  3,  1890,  it  was  voted  to  send 
a  petition  which  had  been  prepared  as  follows: 

Melrose,  May  26th,  i.Sqo. 
7o  tlic  Hon.  Coiiiitx  Coi/i/n/ss/o/icrs  of  the' County  of  Middlesex. 

Gentlemen  : — The  undersigned,  representing  a  committee  ap- 
pointed by  the  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Melrose,  in  town  meeting 
assembled,  respectfully  petition  your  honorable  board  to  cause  to  be 
carried  out  in  its  entirety,  the  order  of  said  board  relating  to  Spot 
and  Ell  Pond  brooks  in  the  towns  of  Melrose  and  Maiden,  said  order 
having  been  made  under  the  Acts  of  1869,  relating  to  "Drainage  in 
the  towns  of  Maiden  and  Melrose." 
Levi  S.  Gould, 

Chairman  Selectmen  of  Melrose. 
Geor(;e  T.  Brown, 

Chairman  of  Committee    on    Removal    of 
-'  Obstructions  in  Ell  and  Spot  Pond  Brooks. 

Several  hearings  were  had  before  the  County  Commissioners, 
resulting  in  a  decision  by  them,  that  their  powers  under  the 
act  of  1869  were  exhausted  upon  the  issuance  of  their  decree 
in  1875;  and  that  they  were  powerless  to  aid  the  Town  without 
further  legislation;  but,  in  their  judgment,  the  Tovvn  had 
jurisdiction  within  its  own  borders,  to  straighten,  widen  and 
deepen  the  brooks  in  Melrose,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  comply 
with  the  original  order  of  the  Commissioners. 

In  due  time  the  Town  gave  its  Selectmen  the  necessary 
authority;  and  the  work  was  satisfactorily  accomplished;  cost- 
ing the  Town  for  that  part  of  the  work  done  on  the  Ell  Pond 
brook,  $4,048.42,  and  on  the  Spot  Pond  brook  $3,100;  a  total 
of  $7,148.42.  These  brooks  are  now  in  excellent  condition  to 
the  Maiden  line,  in  which  municipality  the  decree  of  the 
Commissioners  has  never  yet  been  completed.  They  consti- 
tute the  only  avenue  for  the  surface  drainage  of  a  constantly 
increasing  community. 

The  next  action  in  connection  with  this  very  important 
subject  was  taken  at  a  Town  Meeting  held  November  18,  1895: 

Voted,  That  John  Larrabee,  Arthur  M.  Willis.  Seth  E.  Benson  and 
Francis  S.  Hesseltine  be  appointed,  they  to  elect  another  citizen,  so 
that  the  committee  shall  consist  of  five  members,  and  the  board  of 


312  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

selectmen,  ex  officio,  to  take  into  consideration  all  matters  relating 
to  the  present  imperfect  drainage  of  the  town,  through  the  medium  of 
Ell  Pond  and  Spot  Pond  brooks ;  also  to  examine  into  the  attitude  of 
the  city  of  Maiden  in  allowing  the  waters  of  said  streams  to  be  choked 
and  dammed  up  within  the  territory  of  said  city,  contrary  to  the  or- 
ders given  by  the  county  commissioners  under  authority  of  Chapter 
378,  of  the  Acts  of  1869,  thus  allowing  the  waters  of  said  brooks  to 
flow  back  upon  property  of  citizens  of  the  town  of  Melrose,  to  the 
great  damage  of  private  interests,  and  more  especially  of  the  public 
health. 

Voted,  That  said  committee  commence  their  investigations  without 
delay  and  report  their  findings  hereunder  to  the  town  at  the  earliest 
practicable  moment. 

Levi  S.  Gould  was  added  to  this  committee.  At  an  ad- 
journed Town  Meeting  April  7,  1896,  it  was 

Voted,  That  the  committee  in  the  matter  of  Ell  and  Spot  Pond 
brooks  be  directed  to  invite  the  co-operation  of  the  city  of  Maiden  in 
the  widening,  deepening  and  removal  of  all  obstructions  in  said  public 
drain  within  the  limits  of  Maiden,  to  the  depth  and  width  intended 
under  the  original  orders  of  the  count}'  commissioners;  and  should 
they  be  unable  to  accomplish  this  result,  then  to  commence  such  pro- 
ceeding, as  may  in  their  judgment  be  necessary  to  compel  said  city  to 
perform  its  duty  in  the  premises.  For  the  purpose  of  enabling  said 
committee  to  carry  out  the  spirit  of  this  vote,  the  sum  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars  (#250)  is  hereby  raised  and  appropriated. 

The  City  of  Maiden  did  not  recognize  this  action  on  the  part 
of  Melrose,  consequently  no  further  action  relative  to  the 
matter  of  drainage  was  taken  until  the  Town  Meeting  held 
March  8,  1897,  when  it  was  voted: 

That  the  Selectmen  be  authorized  to  petition  the  Legislature  for  an 
act  to  authorize  the  County  Commissioners  of  Middlesex  Count}^,  to 
assume  control  of  Spot  Pond  and  Ell  Pond  brooks  in  Melrose  and 
Maiden,  to  use  said  brooks  or  streams  in  such  manner  as  they  may 
deem  necessary  for  proper  drainage  and  the  public  health. 

Nearly  two  years  went  by  before  any  further  action  of  im- 
portance was  taken.  February  15,  1900,  Mayor  Charles  L. 
Dean,  of  Maiden,  addressed  a  letter  to  Mayor  Levi  S.  Gould, 
asking  that  a  conference  concerning  the  "  Spot  Pond  Brook 
matter"  be  held  in  City  Hall,  Maiden,  February  22,  at  which 
he  desired  the  presence  of  the  Mayor,  City  Solicitor,  Engineer 
of   Public  Works,   Representative  to  the  General    Court,  and 


DRAINAGE  AND  HEALTH.  313 

others.  At  the  request  of  Mayor  Gould  a  committee  from  the 
Board  of  Aldermen  was  appointed  to  meet  with  the  above, 
consisting  of  Aldermen  Fernald,  Goss,  Moore,  Folger,  Foster, 
Everett  and   Burnett. 

A  month  later  the  Mayor  sent  the  following  communication 
to  the  Board: 

Melrose,  Mass.,  March  19,  1900. 
To  the  Honorable  the  Board  of  Aldermen. 

Gentlemen  : — I  respectfully  call  your  attention  to  the  flowage  of 
lands  and  streets  through  which  runs  Spot  Pond  brook.  The  present 
condition  of  affairs  is  largely  attributable  to  the  action  of  the  Common- 
wealth in  turning  a  large  drainage  area  from  its  ordinary  flowage  into 
Spot  Pond  and  depositing  it  through  an  unnatural  channel  in  such  a 
rapid  and  unusual  way  as  to  deluge  the  low  lands  of  Melrose  and  Mai- 
den. This  sort  of  thing  is  growing  constantly  worse  and  demands  an 
immediate  remedy.  My  advice  would  be  to  instruct  our  Representa- 
tive and  Senator  to  ask  the  Legislature  to  pass  an  act  which  shall 
cause  the  Metropolitan  Water  Board  to  so  widen,  deepen  and 
straighten  Spot  Pond  brook  in  Melrose,  Stoneham  and  Maiden  as  to 
allow  the  water  from  said  pond  and  its  vicinity  to  flow  unobstructed 
to  the  sea.     This  action  ought  to  be  taken  at  once. 

Very  Respectfully, 

Levi  S.  Gould,  Mayor, 

May  28,  1900,  Mayor  Gould  addressed  the  Board  of  Alder- 
men on  this  subject,  and  during  his  remarks  read  the  following 
communication  made  to  the  Maiden  and  Melrose  committee: 

Metropolitan  Water  Board,  3  Mt.  Vernon  St. 

Boston,  May  25,  1900. 
To  the  Co7n7nittce  on  the  part  of  Maiden  and  Melrose  in  relation  to  Spot 
Pond  Brook. 

Gentlemen  : — The  Metropolitan  Water  Board  has  considered  the 
matter  of  Spot  Pond  brook.  We  do  not  feel  that  it  is  possible  before 
the  adjournment  of  the  Legislature,  to  advise  you  as  to  a  specific  plan 
by  which  the  improvement  such  as  you  suggest  could  be  carried  out. 
It  would  be  a  difficult  matter  to  determine  what  work  should  be  done 
simply  to  protect  the  lands  along  the  brook  so  far  as  to  put  them  in 
the  situation  enjoyed  before  the  pond  was  used  for  water  purposes,  or 
before  any  disturbance  was  caused  by  the  operations  of  the  Metropoli- 
tan Water  Board.  It  now  seems,  however,  that  when  the  work  is 
undertaken,  in  the  interest  of  the  City  of  Melrose  and  probably  of  the 
City  of  Maiden,  that  a  much  wider  scope  should  be  taken,  and  the 


314  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

operations  should  be  so  carried  on  that  a  decided  improvement  should 
be  made  for  the  benefit  of  the  abutting  lands.  The  best  suggestion 
that  we  could  make  to  you  in  reference  to  legislation  would  seem  to  be 
for  you  to  obtain  authority  for  the  appointment  of  a  board  which 
should  take  the  whole  matter  into  consideration  and  determine  what 
disturbance  has  been  caused  and  what  improvement  should  be  made, 
and  also  to  determine  by  what  method  it  is  desirable  that  any  sug- 
gested improvement  should  be  carried  out,  and  who  should  be  held  to 
make  payment  therefor.  This  inquiry  might  be  made  by  the  Metro- 
politan Sewerage  Commission,  The  inquiry  should  certainly  seem  to 
call  for  a  pretty  careful  consideration  as  to  what  was  accomplished 
under  the  statute  of  1869. 

It  would  seem  that  there  is  little  danger  of  more  damage  being  done  in 
the  coming  year  than  during  the  last  so  far  as  the  operations  of  our 
Board  are  concerned,  and  it  is  not  likely  that  we  shall  have  floods  like 
those  of  the  past  year.  If,  however,  it  seemed  desirable  by  your  com- 
mittee that  more  specific  work  should  be  undertaken  an  act  might  be 
passed  by  which,  say,  the  Metropolitan  Sewerage  Commission  should 
be  empowered  to  carry  out  the  improvement,  that  betterments  should 
be  imposed  upon  abutters  or  others  who  are  benefited  by  the  opera- 
tions, and  that  the  parties  upon  whom  assessments  should  be  made 
for  carrying  on  the  work,  or  liable  for  the  damages  resulting,  should 
be  ascertained  by  a  commission  to  be  appointed  by  the  Supreme 
Court,  and  that  this  same  commission  should  be  empowered  to  de- 
termine the  amount  which  should  be  paid  by  each  of  the  assessable 
parties. 

We  do  not  think,  however,  that  any  propositions  can  be  suddenly 
made  which  will  result  in  proper  legislation  for  accomplishing  the  ends 
desired.  Yours  Very  Truly, 

Henry  H.  Sprague,  Chairman. 

June  II,  1900,  Mayor  Gould  sent  a  communication  to  the 
Board,  and  as  Chairman  of  the  General  Committee  he  referred 
to  this  subject  as  follows: 

Regarding  the  matter  of  Spot  Pond  Brook  I  have  to  report  in 
addition  to  what  I  stated  before  your  Honorable  Board,  that  a  full 
meeting  of  the  Committee  having  this  matter  in  charge  was  held  at 
City  Hall,  Maiden,  on  the  evening  of  June  7th,  and  it  was  deemed 
unadvisable  to  attempt  to  do  anything  in  connection  with  the  Legis- 
lature this  year,  but  the  same  committee  was  continued  with  full 
powers  to  make  all  necessary  arrangements  to  bring  the  subject  to  the 
attention  of  the  next  General  Court. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  January  28,  1901^ 
President  Robinson  appointed    His    Honor    Mayor    Larrabee^ 


DRAINAGE  AND  HEALTH.  315 

and  Aldermen  Fernald,  Everett  and  Moore,  to  act  with  Senator 
George  R.  Jones,  and  Representative  Charles  H.  Adams,  in 
this  matter  of  the  drainage  of  Spot  and  Ell  Pond  Brooks. 
Several  meetings  were  held  but  no  definite  action  was  taken 
until  1902,  when  an  act  was  passed  by  the  Legislature,  author- 
izing and  directing  the  Metropolitan  Water  and  Sewerage 
Board 

to  investigate  the  condition  of  Spot  Pond  brook  in  Stoneham,  Melrose 
and  Maiden,  and  report  a  plan  for  such  improvements  to  the  brook  as 
will  provide  for  the  easy  and  natural  flow  of  water  from  Doleful  Pond 
and  surrounding'  country  turned  into  it  by  said  board  to  tide  water. 

The  Board  is  to  take  the  whole  subject  into  consideration, 
find  a  feasible  and  desirable  plan  to  remedy  the  existing  evils, 
to  apportion  expenses  and  betterments  to  all  interested  parties, 
and  to  report  to  the  General  Court  before  January  15,  1903. 

It  is  hoped  that  in  the  near  future,  with  the  united  action  of 
Maiden,  the  Metropolitan  Water  and  Sewerage  Board  and  our 
own  municipality,  these  waters  may  have  no  hindrance  or 
impediment  in  their  journey  to  the  sea. 

During  the  last  few  years  Melrose  has  been  greatly  troubled 
with  the  surface  drainage  question  in  its  residential  centres.  It 
has  been  a  problem  to  the  solving  of  which  much  thought  and 
labor  has  been  given.  Many  thousands  of  dollars  have  been 
spent  on  streets,  particularly  side-hill  streets,  only  to  be  dissi- 
pated by  the  first  heavy  down-pour  of  rain.  Many  districts  in 
the  lower  lands  have  been  flooded,  with  no  proper  outflow. 

So  great  had  become  the  evil  that  Engineer  and  Superin- 
tendent of  Public  Works,  W.  Dabney  Hunter,  was  ordered,  by 
the  Board  of  Aldermen,  to  devise  some  system  of  relief. 
November  19,  1900,  he  submitted  a  very  thorough  and  ex- 
haustive report  for  such  a  system  of  surface  drainage,  estimat- 
ing the  cost,  exclusive  of  any  improvements  in  the  Ell  Pond 
brook  to  the  Maiden  line,  at  $334,610.  This  report  was 
adopted  by  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  the  work  commenced 
July  9,  1901,  with  an  appropriation  of  $10,000  with  which  to 
construct  a  portion  of  said  system. 

The  sum  of  $10,639.19  was  expended  under  the  direction  of 
the  Mayor,  in  different  parts  of  the  City,  wherever  in  his  judg- 
ment the  most  serious  trouble  existed,  and  in  this  manner, 
many  sections  of  the  City  were  benefited.  In  furtherance  of 
this  work,  the  Legislature,  in    1902,  passed  an  act  authorizing 


516  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

the  issuance  of  $100,000  in  bonds,  with  the  view  of  using  only 
a  portion  of  them,  $20,000  each  year,  as  the  work  progressed. 

By  a  provision  of  the  City  Charter,  the  issuing  of  bonds,  or 
a  permanent  loan,  must  be  submitted  to  the  voters  of  the  City, 
at  the  next  annual  municipal  election,  or  a  special  election, 
called  for  that  purpose,  if  a  petition  signed  by  one  hundred 
legal  voters  be  filed  with  the  City  Clerk.  In  this  case  this  ac- 
tion was  taken,  and  nothing  more  can  be  done  in  the  matter  of 
surface  drainage  until  after  the  next  election.  It  is  to  be 
hoped  that  the  act  will  be  accepted,  and  the  means  thus 
afforded  of  continuing  this  very  important  work  for  the  peace, 
health  and  comfort  of  our  citizens. 

BOARD  OF  HEALTH. 

Closely  connected  with  this  subject  of  Drainage  is  the 
supervising  action  of  a  Board  of  Health.  To  the  wise  over- 
sight of  this  Board,  in  keeping  watch  of  the  presence  of  various 
diseases,  requiring  the  observance  of  certain  rules,  the  removal 
of  offences  of  many  kinds,  especially  those  relating  to  sewers, 
plumbing,  garbage,  etc.,  is  due  to  a  very  great  extent  the  well 
being  of  our  community.  Many  are  the  complaints  made  and 
remedies  instituted. 

Our  first  regular  Board  of  Health  was  elected  at  the  Annual 
Town  Meeting,  March  3,  1890,  and  consisted  of  the  following 
persons:  Ernest  S.  Jack,  M.  D.,  Chairman;  Frank  L.  Washburn 
and  George  W.  Burke.  Previous  to  this  time  the  duties  of  a 
Board  of  Health  had  been  performed,  as  required  by  statute 
by  the  Selectmen,  one  of  whom  acted  as  Chairman.  From 
1890,  until  the  Town  became  a  City,  a  board  of  three  members 
was  regularly  elected;  the  last  one  being  composed  as  follows: 
John  E.  Sanb6rn,  M.  D.,  Chairman;  Corydon  W.  Harlow,  M.  D., 
and  William  H.  Dole.  An  annual  report  has  been  regularly 
made,  the  last  one  under  Town  government  being  the  tenth. 

After  the  City  was  incorporated  the  Board  of  Health  was 
nominated  by  the  Mayor,  and  subject  to  confirmation  by  the 
Board  of  Aldermen.  The  first  Board  thus  appointed  for  1900, 
consisted  of  Clarence  P.  Holden,  M.  D.,  Chairman;  Paul  H. 
Provandie,  M.  D.,  and  William  H.  Dole.  The  members  for  1901 
were  Paul  H.  Provandie,  M.  D.,  Chairman;  William  H.  Dole 
and  Joseph  H.  Robinson.  Under  the  auspices  of  this  Board 
a  pamphlet  of  thirty-three  pages  has  been  issued  giving  at  length 


DRAINAGE  AND  HEALTH.  317 

the  "  Rules  and  Regulations  of  the  Board  of  Health."  Mr.  Dole 
resigned  to  become  Inspector  of  Animals  and  Provisions,  and 
Dr.  John  T.  Timlin  was  appointed  in  his  place.  For  1902  the 
Board  remains  the  same. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  trouble  Melrose  has  had  to  contend 
with  during  all  these  years,  in  drainage  matters,  its  health  has 
been  most  excellent,  as  can  be  easily  verified  by  facts  and 
figures.  When  George  Wingate  Chase,  author  of  the  History 
of  Haverhill,  was  one  of  our  citizens,  he  was  employed  in  the 
ofifice  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Commonwealth,  upon  the  census 
of  1865.  From  the  State  Registration  Reports  he  then  made  a 
computation  which  showed  that  in  point  of  health,  Melrose 
stood  number  three  when  compared  with  all  the  other  cities 
and  towns  in  the  State.  About  that  time  a  similar  computa- 
tion was  made  by  Dr.  Erastus  O.  Phinney,  a  resident  physician 
for  twenty  years,  of  the  immediately  surrounding  towns,  which 
confirmed  this  statement.  Other  testimony  is  readily  obtair.ed 
to  show  that  for  healthiness  of  situation,  and  for  the  general 
good  health  of  its  inhabitants,  Melrose  occupies  a  very  high 
position. 


CHAPTER  XV. 

PARKS  AND  BOULEVARDS. 

IN  1856,  Hon.  Daniel  W.  Gooch  and  Walter  Littlefield  bought 
the  greater  part  of  the  Upham  and  Lynde  farms,  situated 
between  Lebanon,  Upham  and  Grove  Streets,  had  the  land 
surveyed  and  laid  out  in  house  lots,  naming  the  tract  "The 
Home  Association  Lands."  The  sale  of  these  lots  at  public 
auction,  took  place  in  the  Meonian  Hall  of  the  old  Tremont 
Temple,  and  most  of  the  lots  were  disposed  of  at  that  time; 
and  soon  after  the  purchasers  began  to  build  thereon;  now 
nearly  every  one  contains  a  dwelling  or  store.  At  the  time 
of  the  survey,  there  was  reserved  all  the  land  bounded  by 
East  Foster  Street  on  the  north,  Sixth  Street  on  the  east, 
Laurel  Street  on  the  south,  and  Larrabee  Street  on  the  west,  for 
a  public  park.  It  is  now  known  as  the  "Melrose  Common." 
It  was  a  neglected  spot  for  many  years;  but  of  late,  after  the 
establishment  of  the  Board  of  Park  Commissioners,  the  Town 
made  small  appropriations,  at  different  times,  for  its  improve- 
ment, but  it  still  remains  in  a  somewhat  primeval  state.  Year 
by  year,  it  is  being  utilized  more  and  more  as  the  place  for  the 
City's  Fourth  of  July  celebrations,  display  of  fireworks,  etc. 
It  is  hoped  that  some  day  the  City  will  appropriate  sufficient 
money  to  make  of  this  a  beautiful  and  healthful  breathing  spot 
and  play  ground. 

In  1882,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  authorizing  towns  and 
cities  to  lay  out  public  parks  within  their  limits;  and  at  a 
Town  Meeting  held  November  12,  1887,  it  was  voted  to  accept 
its  provisions,  and  the  following  Park  Commissioners  were  then 
elected  :  Nathaniel  P.  Jones,  for  three  years;  William  N.  Fol- 
som,  for  two  years;  John  W.  Farwell,  for  one  year. 

In  1889,  William  A.  Rodman  was  elected  for  three  years; 
resigning  soon  after,  George  T.  Brown  was  elected  to  fill  the 
vacancy. 


PARKS  AND  BOULEVARDS.  319 

In  1890,  the  Town  voted  to  buy  the  Barry  homestead,  corner 
of  Main  and  Lynde  Streets,  as  the  site  for  a  new  Hose  House 
for  the  Wyoming  District,  for  the  sum  of  ;J2,500.  It  was  after- 
wards decided  not  to  be  a  suitable  location,  therefore  the  house 
was  sold  and  moved  away;  and  the  little  triangular  tract  of 
land  remains  the  property  of  the  City,  and  was  placed  under 
the  jurisdiction  of  the  Park  Commissioners.  Perhaps  it  had 
better  be  called  the  "Barry  Park." 

Sewall  Woods  Park.  At  a  Town  Meeting  held  June  8, 
1891,  it  was  voted  as  follows: 

That  whereas,  it  is  understood  that  the  Sewall  heirs  desire  under 
certain  conditions  to  present  to  the  town  of  Melrose,  ten  acres  of  land 
for  use  as  a  public  park,  embracing  the  central  and  highest  portions  of 
the  Sewall  estate,  it  is  hereby  resolved,  that  a  committee  of  nine  be 
appointed,  to  consist  of  the  Selectmen,  the  Park  Commissioners,  and 
three  citizens  to  be  named  by  the  Moderator,  who  shall  confer  with 
the  representatives  of  the  Sewall  family  and  ascertain  their  wishes  and 
intentions  in  the  matter,  and  report  at  the  next  town  meeting. 

John  W.  Farwell,  Royal  P.  Barry  and  D.  Webster  Dow  were 
appointed  as  citizens;  the  Selectmen  were  Levi  S.  Gould,  John 
P.  Deering  and  Charles  W'.  Higgins;  the  Park  Commissioners, 
Nathaniel  P.  Jones,  William  N.  Folsom  and  George  T.  Brown. 
This  reservation  was  the  central  part  of  the  wild  and  beautiful 
tract  of  land  which  belonged  to  the  late  Hon.  Samuel  E. 
Sewall,  adjoining  his  homestead  at  the  corner  of  Perkins  and 
Vinton  Streets,  and  which  was  now  offered  to  the  Town  l)\'  his 
daughter,  Mrs.  Edward  C.  Cabot  of  Brookline,  in  accordance 
with  the  wishes  of  her  late  sister.  Dr.  Lucy  E.  Sewall,  with  the 
proviso  that  the  Town  build  a  street,  to  be  known  as  "  Sewall 
Woods  Road"  around  the  tract  thus  donated,  according  to  a 
plan  drawn  b)-  Walter  C.  Stevens.  Another  wish  of  Mrs. 
Cabot,  not  a  condition  or  restriction,  was: 

That  none  of  the  trees  on  said  premises  shall  be  cut  down  unless 
decayed,  or  that  it  shall  be  considered  necessary  so  to  do  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  remaining  ones,  or  for  the  benetit  of  the  public  use  of  said 
woods,  and  that  the  woods  shall  be  maintained  as  far  as  possible,  or 
reasonable  in  their  present  wild  condition. 

At  a  Town  Meeting  held  July  7,  1891,  the  committee  made 
a  report  which  was  unanimously  accepted  and  adopted,  and  it 
was  voted: 


320  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

That  the  town  of  Melrose  hereby  accepts  the  proposition  of  Mrs. 
Edward  C.  Cabot,  of  Brookline,  Mass.,  as  contained  in  her  letter  of 
July  6,  1 89 1,  addressed  to  the  Board  of  Selectmen,  presenting  to  said 
town  certain  land,  for  a  public  park  with  the  conditions  therein  ex- 
pressed, that  the  town  build  and  make  the  road  as  indicated  on  a  plan 
drawn  by  Walter  C.  Stevens,  and  accept  it  as  a  town  way  and  that  the 
town  provide  perpetual  care  of  said  park,  and  call  the  gift  "  Sewall 
Woods,"  in  honor  of  the  memory  of  our  late  respected  citizen,  Hon. 
Samuel  E.  Sewall. 

April  25,  1892,  it  was  voted  to  build  this  Sewall  Woods  Road, 

and  that  so  much  of  the  bank  and  corporation  taxes  of  this  year,  as- 
may  be  necessary,  be  appropriated  to  build  the  street. 

The  Sewall  Woods  Park  is  being  kept  by  the  City  in  the 
state  desired  by  the  donors,  and  is  being  gradually  surrounded 
by  first-class  dwellings.  The  Sewall  Mansion,  which  was  not 
included  in  the  gift  to  the  City,  still  remains  as  left  by  the 
family. 

In  1893  and  1895  three  new  Park  Commissioners  were 
chosen:  Maurice  G.  Cochrane,  Charles  H.  Adams  and  P'rank 
F.  Preble,  and  the  last  Board  previous  to  City  corporation,  con- 
sisted of  Charles  H.  Adams,  Chairman;  Maurice  G.  Cochrane 
and  Willis  C.  Goss. 

At  a  Town  Meeting  held  November  15,  1894,  it  was  voted: 

That  the  park  commissioners,  together  with  four  others  to  be 
appointed  by  the  chair,  take  into  consideration  matters  in  relation  to 
the  internal  improvement  of  the  town  so  far  as  parks  are  concerned, 
and  report  at  some  future  meeting. 

Col.  P^rancis  S.  Hesseltine,  Hon.  William  E.  Barrett,  Joshua 
T.  Nowell  and  John  W.  Robson,  were  appointed.  April  8^ 
1895,  thi^  committee  reported  through  its  chairman,  Charles  H. 
Adams, 

showing  the  advantages  to  be  gained  by  laying  out  certain  open  places 
as  parks,  particularly  the  place  known  as  Dix  Pond,  in  the  rear  of  the 
Town  Hall,  embracing  about  six  acres  of  land  and  water. 

He  moved  that  an  appropriation  of  $25,000  be  made  to  carry 
out  the  proposition,  but  it  was  indefinitely  postponed.  The 
next  movement  in  behalf  of  extending  the  park  system  was 
more  successful. 

At  a  Town  Meeting  held  Nov.  8,  1897,  a  committee  of  fixe,, 
three  of  whom  were  the   Park  Commissioners,  was  appointed 


PARKS  AND  BOULEVARDS.  321 

to  consider  the  expediency  of  taking  from  twenty  to  twenty- 
five  acres  of  land,  including  the  tract  known  as  the  Base  Ball 
Park,  on  the  northerly  and  westerly  side  of  Ell  Pond,  for  Park 
purposes.  November  23,  the  committee  was  increased  by 
adding-  three  more,  and  it  was  then  constituted  as  follows: 
Sidney  H.  Buttrick,  Hon.  William  E.  Barrett,  George  R.  Jones, 
Frank  L.  Washburn,  Chester  Shepard,  and  the  three  commis- 
sioners, Charles  H.  Adams,  Maurice  G.  Cochrane  and  Frank  ¥. 
Preble.  December  23,  a  report  was  made  by  the  Chairman, 
Charles  H.  Adams,  which  was  accepted.  The  Town  then  pro- 
ceeded to  pass  the  following  vote: 

For  the  purpose  of  taking  land  for  park  purposes,  a  sum  not  exceed- 
ing fifteen  thousand  dollars  (515,000)  is  appropriated,  and  the  Town 
Treasurer  is  authorized  to  borrow  the  same,  giving  coupon  notes  of  the 
Town,  of  one  thousand  dollars  ($1,000)  each,  bearing  interest  at  the 
rate  of  4  per  cent,  per  annum,  interest  payable  semi-annually.  Nine 
of  said  notes  to  be  payable,  one  each  year  from  the  time  of  issue. 
The  balance  of  said  fifteen  thousand  dollars  (515,000)  to  be  payable  in 
one  note  ten  years  from  date  of  issue  with  interest  at  4  per  cent,  per 
annum,  payable  semi-annually.  This  loan  to  be  known  as  the  Melrose 
park  loan. 

Under  this  vote  the  Park  Commissioners  proceeded  to  take 
the  land  described  for  park  purposes  by  right  of  eminent 
domain,  and  it  is  named  "  Ell  Pond  Park."  January  31,  1902, 
two  of  these  notes  had  been  paid,  leaving  Park  Debt  now 
$13,000. 

During  the  year  1898,  the  building  of  a  new  boulevard  from 
the  Fells,  at  the  western  boundary  of  Melrose,  thence  by  the 
Sewall  Woods,  Ell  Pond  (of  which  Mr.  de  Las  Casas,  chair- 
man of  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission,  once  said  that  no 
town  north  of  Boston  had  so  fine  an  opportunity  for  a  beautiful 
park  as  was  here  presented)  Bennett's  Pond,  Pranker's  Pond, 
and  so  on  to  the  Lynn  Woods,  was  agitated;  and  in  view  of 
this  urgently  desired  possibility,  the  Town  at  its  last  meeting, 
held  November  9,  1899,  passed  the  following  vote: 

That  in  the  event  of  the  building  of  a  boulevard,  by  the  Metropoli- 
tan Park  Commission,  from  the  Fells  to  the  Lynn  Woods,  along  the 
shore  of  Ell  Pond,  that  it  is  the  unanimous  sentiment  of  the  meeting, 
that  the  Park  land  consisting  of  about  twenty-three  acres  on  the  north 
side  of  Ell  Pond,  be  transferred  to  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commission, 
in  accordance  with  the  law  relating  to  such  transfers  and  control.  It 
is  the  desire  of  the  Town  to  contribute  this  land  towards  the  proposed 
Metropolitan  Boulevard. 


322  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

In  accordance  with  this  vote,  Charles  H.  Adams,  chairman 
of  the  Melrose  Park  Commissioners,  presented  to  the  Metro- 
politan Park  Commissioners,  for  the  State,  the  formal  vote  of 
the  Town  conveying  the  park  land  around  Ell  Pond,  costing 
$15,000,  to  be  used  for  boulevard  purposes. 

Concerning  this  proposed  boulevard  the  Metropolitan  Park 
Commissioners,  in  their  report  of  January  i,  1901,  favored  the 
route  through  Melrose,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following: 

From  Lynn  Woods  to  Middlesex  Fells  only  two  routes  are  available. 
The  topography  of  the  intervening  country  makes  it  likely  that  no 
others  will  ever  be  considered  available,  while  the  trend  of  population 
is  such  that  the  cost  of  either  will  undoubtedly  be  greater  in  the  future 
than  now.  The  more  northerly  or  Wakefield  route  is  from  the  Great 
Woods  Road  of  Lynn  Woods,  along  Hewlett's  Pond  and  Brook  in 
Saugus  to  Hart's  Hill  and  Crj'stal  Lake  [Smith's  Pond]  in  Wakefield,' 
and  thence  southwesterly  to  the  Fells  at  Doleful  Pond  in  Stoneham. 
This  route  would  provide  a  parkway  about  six  miles  long,  through 
scenery  of  much  the  same  character  as  that  of  the  reservations. 
To  preserve  its  beauty  would  require  ample  takings,  amounting  almost 
to  an  extension  of  the  reservations  to  meet  each  other.  The  most 
southerly  or  Melrose  route  is  from  the  same  Great  Woods  Road  across 
the  upper  Saugus  Meadows,  through  an  interval  between  the  hills 
to  Ell  Pond  in  Melrose  and  thence  to  the  Fells.  Its  length  would  be 
about  four  and  one-half  miles.  The  first  two-thirds  of  the  route 
would  be  through  open  lands  of  low  cost,  while  the  remaining  land, 
except  the  park  lands  along  Ell  Pond,  would  be  in  a  compactly 
settled  and  attractive  portion  of  Melrose.  Its  scenery  would  be  that 
of  an  intervale  parkway,  attractive  and  restful  in  the  midst  of  a  large 
population,  and  a  contrast  to  the  wilder  scenery  of  the  reservations. 
The  cost  of  the  land  for  this  route  would  be  about  $75,000,  which  is 
about  $10,000  in  excess  of  the  estimated  cost  of  land  by  the  Wakefield 
route.  The  cost  of  construction  for  the  Melrose  route  would  be  about 
$190,000,  while  that  of  the  Wakefield  route  would  be  about  $226,000. 
By  either  route,  however,  partial  construction  would  probably  answer 
for  many  years  to  come.  The  choice  between  these  two  routes  must 
rest  on  practical  considerations  other  than  those  of  attractiveness  or 
accommodations  to  the  city  or  town  in  which  the  parkway  would  lie. 
Taking  all  these  considerations  into  account,  the  Commission  regards 
the  Melrose  or  intervale  route  as  most  desirable.  Its  reasons,  stated 
briefly,  are  that  this  route  is  shorter,  that  it  is  available  to  a  larger 
population,  and  will  divide  the  northern  half  of  the  district  more 
equitably;  that  its  attractiveness  is  less  dependent  upon  surrounding- 
scenery,  likely  to  be  destroyed  in  time ;  and  that  its  contrast  to  the 
scenery  of  the  reservations  will  be  a  pleasant  element  of  variety  in  the 
Park  System. 


PARKS  AND  BOULEVARDS.  323 

In  addition  to  the  public  lands  already  described,  there  are, 
in  different  parts  of  the  cit^^  besides  the  grounds  around  City 
Hall,  several  small  plats,  which  were  in  the  care  of  the  Board 
of  Park  Commissioners  and  came  within  their  jurisdiction,  but 
are  now  cared  for  by  the  Public  Works  Department.  One  is 
the  triangle  at  the  corner  of  Green  and  Howard  Streets,  in  the 
centre  of  which  is  a  large  and  handsome  fountain,  generously 
given  for  the  purpose  of  beautifying  that  part  of  the  town,  by 
Henry  A.  Norris  and  George  M.  Dennis;  the  latter  then  living 
on  Howard  Street.  Another  tract  of  similar  shape,  at  the  junc- 
tion of  Elm  and  Linden  Streets,  also  contains  a  fountain,  the 
gift  of  Mr.  Norris.  Another  very  pretty  triangle,  with  hand- 
some granite  edge-stone,  is  situated  at  the  junction  of  Vinton 
and  Perkins  Streets,  opposite  the  entrance  to  the  Sewall  Woods 
Park.  Another  is  situated  at  the  junction  of  Main  and  Green 
Streets.  This  is  an  interesting  spot;  for  here  stood  for  many 
years  North  Maiden's  first  church;  a  unique  little  affair,  built 
by  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  in  1818,  the  history  of 
which  has  been  given  in  previous  pages.  Still  another,  is  the 
triangle  at  the  junction  of  Vinton  and  West  Foster  Streets,  in 
front  of  the  D.  W.  Gooch  School. 

The  land  between  the  eastern  end  of  Ell  Pond  and  Main 
Street,  has  been  put  in  good  condition;  a  substantial  wall 
built,  with  an  iron  railing,  seats  placed  thereon,  and  this  is  now 
under  the  care  of  the  Public  Works  Department. 

At  a  Town  Meeting  held  April  11,  1898,  it  was  voted: 

That  until  otherwise  voted  by  the  Town  the  High  School  lot  on 
Emerson  Street  be  placed  in  charge  of  the  Park  Commissioners. 

The  values  of  the  Park  properties  as  given  in  the  "Schedule 
of  City  Property  "  for  1902,  are  as  follows: 

Ell  Pond  Park,  23  acres,      ......  Si 5,000 

Old  High  School  Lot,  30,300  square  feet,  .         .         .  lO,6oo 

Melrose  Common,  4.35  acres,      .....  10,000 

Sewall  Woods  Park,  9  acres,  10,000  square  feet,  11,250 

Land,  east  side  P^ll  Pond 1,000 

Triangle,  cor.  Main  and  Green  Streets,  5,000  feet,      .  500 

Triangle,  cor.  Main  and  Lynde  Streets,  5,000  feet,     .  1,250 


$49,600 
This  leaves  out  of  the  account  the  small  triangular  lots. 


324 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Middlesex  Fells.  Some  of  the  wildest,  most  rugged  and 
picturesque  portions  of  the  territory  known  as  the  Middlesex 
Fells  —  at  first  designated  as  an  "uncouth  wilderness,"  then 
as  "the  Rocks,"  and  later  as  "Five  Mile  Woods" — are  found 
within  the  bounds  of  Melrose.  Here  is  the  beautiful  Ravine 
Road,  leading  from  Wyoming  Avenue,  by  the  Virginia  Woods, 
with  its  majestic  pines  and  hemlocks,  to  Spot  Pond. 


RAVINE   ROAD. 


On  the  right,  going  from  Melrose  to  Maiden,  are  the  beet- 
ling crags  which  form  the  eastern  edge  of  the  Fells.  Between 
the  summits  of  Black  Rock  and  White  Rock,  the  charming 
Cascade,  previously  described,  comes  tumbling  down  from  the 
top  of  these  rocks,  during  each  spring  and  autumn.  This 
forest  reservation,  which  includes  the  holdings  of  the  Metro- 
politan Water  and  Sewerage  Board,  and  the  local  Boards  of 
Medford  and  Winchester,  is  now  under  the  jurisdiction  of  the 
Metropolitan  Park  Commission. 

At  the  present  time  there  are  23.98  miles  of  wood-roads  and 
bridle-paths,  13.67  miles  of  carriage-roads,  and  3.37  miles  of 
border-roads;  a  total  of  41.02  miles.  The  approaching  boule- 
vards and  roads  are  as  follows:  Middlesex  Fells  Parkway, 
4.605  miles;  Mystic  Valley  Parkway,  2.900  miles;  Whitmore 
Brook    Entrance,   .813   miles;    and    Bear    Hill    Entrance,   .398 


PARKS  AND  BOULEVARDS.  325 

miles;  a  total  of  8.716  miles;  thus  affording  walks  and  drives 
almost  unlimited,  in  many  directions. 

The  area  of  the  F*ells  is  now  1,882.95  acres,  of  which  726.15 
acres  are  in  the  Town  of  Stoneham,  177.54  acres  in  the.  City  of 
Melrose,  59.37  acres  in  the  City  of  Maiden,  669.08  acres  in  the 
City  of  Medford  and  250.61  acres  in  the  Town  of  Winchester. 
In  addition  to  the  lands  acquired  by  this  Commission,  there 
are  1,145.03  acres  of  lands  in  the  Middlesex  Fells  held  by  the 
Metropolitan  Water  Board  and  the  local  water  boards  of 
Winchester  and  Medford.  which  have,  by  agreement  with  these 
Boards,  been  placed  under  the  care  and  control  of  this  Com- 
mission, and  are  used  by  the  public  in  the  same  manner  and  to 
the  same  extent  as  the  park  lands.  For  practical  purposes, 
therefore,  the  Middlesex  Fells  ma)-  be  considered  as  a  reserva- 
tion of  3,027.97  acres.^ 

The  location  and  character  of  these  Fells  were  well  described 
by  Sylvester  Baxter,  in  the  Boston  Herald,  December  6,  1879. 

Something  like  five  miles  northerly  from  Boston  lies  a  great  tract 
of  country,  all  stony  hills  and  table-lands,  almost  uninhabited,  and  of 
wonderful  picturesqueness,  and  wild,  rugged  beauty.  It  is  within  the 
City  of  Maiden,  and  the  towns  of  Medford,  Melrose,  Stoneham  and 
Winchester ;  and  its  heart  is  that  most  beautiful  of  Boston's  suburban 
lakes,  Spot  Pond,  which  lies  high  up  among  the  hills.  The  limits  of 
this  region  are  defined  with  great  clearness,  especially  on  the  south 
and  east,  a  line  of  steep  hills  and  ledges  rising  abruptly  from  the  broad 
plain  that  borders  the  Mystic  River,  almost  as  level  as  a  floor,  and 
forming  its  southern  boundary,  while  on  the  east  the  ledges  start  with 
still  greater  steepness  out  of  the  long  valley  of  meadow-land  through 
which  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad  passes.  ...  Its  western  margin 
is  formed  by  the  valley  through  which  run  the  Lowell  Railroad  and 
its  Stoneham  branch,  and  its  northern  by  the  houses  and  fields  of 
Stoneham,  .  .  .  The  nature  of  the  region  cannot  be  better  character- 
ized than  by  the  application  of  the  old  Saxon  designation /c-Z/j-,  —  a 
common  enough  word  in  England,  meaning  a  tract  of  wild  stone  hills, 
corresponding  to  the  German /t7j-<?//. 

This  tract  lies  wholly  in  Middlesex  County,  hence  the  name 
Middlesex  Fells.  A  great  variety  of  scenery  is  presented  in 
these  Fells,  wild  and  romantic.  In  the  very  centre  slumbers 
the  ever  beautiful  Spot  Pond,  dotted  with  its  islands;  to  the 
west  are  the  irregular,  wood-surrounded  series  of  Winchester 
Reservoirs;  to  the  north,  the  smaller  Doleful  and  Dark  Hollow 

^  Ninth  Report  of  JSIetropolitan  Park  Commission  for  190/,  p.  15. 


32()  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Ponds;  and  to  the  east  two  pretty  little  ponds,  Shiner  and 
Hemlock;  numerous  hills  and  valleys;  Pine  and  Cairn  Hills  in 
the  soutluMii  portion,  and  Hear  Hill  in  the  north.'^  From  these 
prominent  peaks  magnificent  and  extensive  views  are  obtained; 
that  Irom  Black-  Kock,  on  our  territory,  has  been  described  in 
previous  pa^^es;  the  one  from  the  Cairn,  near  the  stone  post  No. 
7,  formin^^  the  boundary  between  Maiden,  Melrose  and  Stone- 
ham  is  a  very  fine  one;  but  the  best  and  most  extensive  one  to 
be  had  in  the  whole  I'^ells  reservation,  is  that  from  the  tower 
which  has  been  erected  on  the  top  of  Bear  Hill,  on  the  wester- 
ly side  of  Spot  Pond.  This  view  has  been  comprehensively 
described  by  Prof.  Charles  I^.  I\iy  of  Tufts  Collcf^c,  in  part  as 
follows: 

Tile  view  from  Hear  Hill  is  iiilerestiii<^,  first  of  all,  for  what  lies  near 
at  hand.  Krom  no  point,  perhaps,  can  one  secure  a  more  comprehen- 
sive view  of  the  Middlesex  Fells;  nnd  it  is  over  these  scantly  wooded 
knolls,  or  between  them,  thnt  one  catches  glimpses  of  Boston  and  its 
neighi)ors.  The  horizon  from  south  to  west  is  set  with  familiar  emi- 
nences, -the  Blue  Hill  Kanj^e,  the  hills  of  Hrookline  and  Newton, 
with  distant  Fej^an  over  15elmont,  and  then  the  heights  of  Arlington, 
Lexington,  and  W'oburn.  TIhmi  the  sky-line  suddenly  retreats,  and 
for  sixty  degrees  we  have  an  almost  continuous  line  of  distant  moun- 
tains. How  they  gleam  these  March  days  under  their  snowy  mantles! 
l-'irst  the  "whale-back"  of  Wachuselt,  nearly  due  wi'st ;  next,  after 
two  or  thiee  considiTable  hills,  Watatic  rises  in  a  pronounced  cone; 
then  comes  the  monarch  of  them  all,  the  grand  Monadnock. 

He  then  describes  Kidder  aiul  Lyndel)()r()  mountain  rani^es, 
the  Joe  ICntj^lish  summit,  the  llncanoonucs,  Kearsage,  the  Hills 
of  Andover,  and  closes  with: 

Ovi'r  other  gently  swelling  hills  of  lOssex  Count)'  the  view  ranges, 
until,  summoning  courage  to  |)ass  the  great  iam|)art  of  masonry  that 
crowns  the  sunnnit  of  Asylum  llill  in  1  )an\i'rs,  it  comes  to  enjo)-  the 
glim])ses  of  the  sea. 

Another  has  said  of  thest-  i"\'lls: 

To  1)1'  fully  appreciated  tlu-y  should  be  xisited  witii  the  love  of 
nature  in  the  lu-arl.      Hold  blufts,  rock  (-rowned  hills,  charming  ponds, 

■•^  During  the   years  1901-02,  a  res-  admitted     into     the     Metropolitan 

ervoir,  to  hold  2,ooo,o(K)  gallons  of  Water  System.      It  is  29  feet  higher 

water,   was  built    on  Hear    Hill,  (or  than  the    I'^ells    Reservoir.     It  cost 

the  better  sni)])ly  of    water    to    (he  #19,456. 
town  of  .StoMi'h.ini,    which  has  been 


PARKS  AND  BOULEVARDS.  327 

wooded  hillsides,  quiet  dells,  cool  shaded  carriage  roads,  winding 
and  picturesque  footpaths  combine  to  make  a  landscape  direct  from 
Nature's  hands,  which  appeals  to  the  heart  and  lifts  it  instinctively  to 
Nature's  God. 

And  the  Metropolitan  Park  Commissioners  say  : 

There  are  dense,  dark  thickets  and  open  groves,  rocky  slopes, 
smoothly  grazed  fields,  beds  of  fern  and  carpets  of  evergreen  foliage. 

When  new  legislation  shall  have  provided  an  instrument  by  which 
the  unifying  work  which  has  been  done  in  Lynn  may  be  accomplished 
in  the  divided  Fells,  the  people  of  Boston,  Cambridge,  Somerville  and 
the  nearer  municipalities  will  soon  find  themselves  possessed  of  a 
common  domain  which,  with  its  Spot  Pond,  its  Bear  Hill,  its  Pine  Hill 
and  its  many  less  conspicuous  but  delightful  ponds,  pools,  brooks  and 
crags,  will  rival,  if  it  will  not  suipass,  Lynn  Woods. 

Mr.  Warren  H.  Manning,  in  his  "Notes  on  the  Vegetation 
of  the  Reservations,"  in  the  Metropolitan  Park  Comviissioners 
Report  for  i8g^,  writing  of  the  beauties  of  the  Middlesex  F"ells 
says : 

Never  can  the  views  from  the  hill-tops  of  the  Fells  compare  in 
variety,  grandeur  or  extent  with  those  from  the  Blue  Hills ;  never  can 
the  views  over  water,  from  hill  to  hill  and  to  valley,  be  so  beautiful  or 
so  varied  in  the  Blue  Hills  as  they  may  be  in  the  Fells.  One  could 
hardly  ask  for  a  more  attractive  combination  of  land  and  water.  Even 
the  artificially  impounded  waters  of  the  reservoirs  are  not  su.spected  to 
be  such  until  their  dams  are  encountered.  Of  course  the  wonderful 
variety  and  the  grandeur  of  the  primitive  forest  have  long  since  dis- 
appeared; but  with  all  the  destruction  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  years 
there  is  still  much  that  is  beautiful,  and  there  are  dismal  wastes  of 
burned  and  falling  brush.  Large  areas  covered  with  deciduous  trees 
are  less  frequently  spotted  by  scattered  pines  than  at  the  Blue  Hills. 
Where  the  pine  appears  it  is  in  large  groups,  or  broad  masses  that  are 
so  well  disposed  with  the  surrounding  deciduous  growths  that  beautiful 
landscape  effects  are  produced.  Great  hemlocks  appear  in  places 
with  the  pines,  and  do  much  to  add  to  the  beauty  of  the  forest  scenery. 
...  No  lover  of  nature  can  spend  a  day  in  the  Fells  without  finding 
several  spots  that  must  be  deemed  remarkably  beautiful.  There  are 
dense,  dark  thickets  and  open  groves,  rocky  slopes,  smoothly  grazed 
fields,  beds  of  fern  and  carpets  of  evergreen  foliage.  .  .  .  Moreover, 
even  those  spots  which  are  now  loveliest  may  undoubtedly  be  made 
more  i^ermanently  and  completely  lovely  by  the  exercise  of  watchful 
and  sympathetic  care. 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

CEMETERIES. 

THE    VILLAGE    BURIAL    GROUND. 

GOD'S   ACRE. 

I  like  that  ancient  Saxon  phrase,  which  calls 
The  burial-ground  God's  Acre  !     It  is  just  ; 
It  consecrates  each  grave  within  its  walls, 

And  breathes  a  benison  o'er  the  sleeping  dust. 
»     «     «     »     * 
This  is  the  field  and  Acre  of  our  God, 
This  is  the  place  where  human  harvests  grow  ! 

Longfellow. 

UNTIL  the  year  1828,  the  inhabitants  of  North  Maiden 
buried  their  dead  in  the  Bell  Rock  Burj'ing  Ground,  at 
Maiden  Centre,  except  in  certain  instances  when  fami- 
lies established  a  tomb  or  burying  place  on  their  own  premises, 
as  was  the  case  with  the  Uphams  on  Upham  Hill,  at  the  end  of 
East  Foster  Street,  which  has  been  described.  In  the  year 
above  mentioned,  the  inhabitants  of  Maiden  bought  of  William 
Dix,  an  acre  and  a  half  of  land  on  the  east  side  of  Main  Street, 
for  a  bur\'ing  ground  for  North  Maiden.  It  was  bounded  as 
follows: 

Beginning  at  land  of  Isaac  Emerson  and  is  bounded  by  the  road 
leading  from  South  Reading  to  Boston,  westerly  to  a  stake  and  stones 
by  a  ditch,  southerly  by  a  ditch  by  my  own  land  to  a  stake  and 
stones,  easterly  by  my  own  land  to  a  stake  and  stones  to  land  of  Isaac 
Emerson,  thence  northerly  by  said  Emerson's  land  to  the  bounds 
first  mentioned. 

Isaac  Emerson  then  lived  where  now  the  Methodist  Parson- 
age stands,  and  William  Dix,  where  now  stands  the  City  Hall. 
The  price  paid  was  $150.  Thus  was  established  the  Village 
Cemetery,  then  commonly  called  the  Village  Burying  Ground. 

Various  citizens  served  on  the   Burying  Ground  Committee 


CEMETERIES.  329 

up  to  the  time  when  the  Wyoming  Cemetery  was  established 
in  1856.  At  that  time,  and  each  year  since,  a  Cemetery  Com- 
mittee, consisting  of  three  members  has  been  regularly 
appointed.  From  1880  to  i8q8,  eighteen  years.  George 
Nevvhall,  John  Larrabee  and  Daniel  Russell  served  together  in 
that  capacity  ;  In  1898,  Mr.  Russell  having  declined  further 
service,  L.  Henry  Kunhardt  was  chosen  in  his  place.  The 
Committee  for  1900  was  John  Larrabee,  John  P.  Deering  and 
Julian  C.  Woodman;  for  1901-2,  John  P.  Deering,  Chairman, 
L.  Henry  Kunhardt,  Secretary,  and  Oscar  F.  Frost. 

The  salaries  of  the  Cemetery  Committee  are  $25  each,  paid 
from  the  income  of  the  Cemetery. 

Previous  to  1880,  Nathaniel  Howard,  "Uncle  Nat,"  the  under- 
taker, served  many  years  on  both  the  Bur}'ing  Ground  and 
Cemetery  Committees.  Other  citizens  who  have  served  on 
these  committees,  at  different  times,  are  Stephen  Emery,  Jon- 
athan Cochran,  German  S.  Phippen,  Elbridge  Green,  John  Blake, 
James  M.  Thresher,  Walter  Littlefield  Jr.,  and  George 
Emerson. 

A  plan  of  the  Village  Bur}ing  Ground  was  made  by  Deacon 
Jonathan  Cochran,  several  years  ago,  and  shortly  before  his 
decease,  he  deli\ered  it  to  John  Larrabee,  then  Town  Clerk, 
and  it  is  now  in  possession  of  the  city. 

This  Cemetery  was  used  as  a  place  of  interment  from  1828 
until  1889;  although  after  the  Wyoming  Cemetery  was  estab- 
lished, only  the  older  families  continued  to  use  the  old  burying 
ground. 

In  the  year  1889,  the  question  of  removing  and  abolishing  the 
Village  Cemetery,  began  to  be  agitated  ;  and  at  a  Town  Meet- 
ing held  April  25,  1889,  the  following  vote  was  passed. 

That  a  committee  of  five  be  appointed  to  consider  the  expediency 
of  removing  from  the  old  burial  ground  on  Main  Street,  the  bodies 
now  interred  therein  to  Wyoming  Cemetery,  said  committee  to  report 
as  to  plans,  methods,  etc.,  at  a  future  meeting,  after  public  hearing  to 
persons  interested,  if  deemed  necessary. 

The  Committee  appointed  were  Julius  S.  Clark,  John  O. 
Norris,  John  B.  .Souther,  George  T.  Brown  and  W.  Irving  Ellis. 
For  some  reason  no  action  was  ever  taken  by  this  Committee, 
Two  years  later,  June  22,  1891,  by  request  of  the  Cemetery 
Committee,  the  Town  voted  : 

That  whenever  the  heirs  or  legal  representatives  of  those  persons 


330  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

who  were  permitted  to  take  and  occupy  lots  in  the  "  Old  Burying- 
Ground,"  on  Main  Street,  shall  in  writing  so  request,  and  proper 
arrangements  have  been  made  under  the  supervision  or  direction  of 
the  Cemetery  Committee  for  the  removal  of  the  remains  of  all  persons 
interred  in  any  of  said  lots,  the  Town  Treasurer  is  hereby  authorized 
to  execute  and  deliver,  for  a  nominal  sum,  deeds  of  such  lots  in 
Wyoming  Cemetery  as  may  be  selected  or  set  apart  vmder  the  direction 
and  approval  of  the  Cemetery  Committee,  for  the  re-interment  of  such 
remains. 

In  order  that  these  instructions  might  be  carried  out,  the 
Cemetery  Committee  was  authorized  to  expend  from  the  cem- 
eter}'  fund  an  amount  not  exceding  five  hundred  dollars  (S500). 

At  the  time  when  the  removal  of  the  bodies  from  the  Village 
to  the  Wyoming  Cemetery  began,  there  had  been  four  hundred 
and  thirty-two  persons  buried  therein.  A  large  number  of 
these  bodies  were  removed  voluntarily  by  relatives  and  others 
that  were  interested,  in  accordance  with  the  above  vote,  lots 
being  exchanged  at  a  nominal  fee  of  one  dollar,  and  all  ex- 
penses being  borne  by  the  Town. 

The  bodies  remaining  numbered  seventy-nine  ;  and  the 
committee,  finding  no  near  relative,  or  person  interested  in  their 
removal  applied  to  the  Legislature,  by  the  direction  of  the 
Town,  for  authority  to  act  in  the  matter ;  and  at  a  Town 
Meeting  held  March  19,  1896,  it  was  voted  to  accept  the  pro- 
visions of  Chapter  95,  Acts  of  1896,  entitled  "  An  Act  providing 
for  the  removal  of  the  remains  of  the  dead  from  the  Old  Burial 
Ground  in  Melrose ;"  the  act  also  specified  that  the  Town 
might  make  use  of  the  land  when  thus  vacated,  for  any  public 
purposes.  The  removal  of  all  the  remaining  bodies  was  at 
once  accomplished.  A  complete  record  of  all  removals  and 
assignments  of  lots  was  kept  by  Edwin  C.  Gould,  who  has  acted 
as  clerk  of  the  Cemetery  Committee  since  1891.  Roscoe  A. 
Leavitt  has  been  the  Superintendent  since  May  i,  1899. 

The  result  of  this  transferral  has  been  to  remove  a  burial 
ground  from  the  midst  of  a  thickly  populated  district,  and  to 
leave  in  the  very  centre  of  the  town,  a  most  valuable  tract  of 
land;  and  when  the  Town  voted,  in  1896,  to  erect  four  new 
school-houses,  at  a  cost  of  S200,000,  this  site  was  at  once 
utilized  in  accordance  with  the  foregoing  Legislative  Act';  and 
there  has  been  erected  thereon,  the  very  handsome  edifice  for 
the  Melrose  High  School,  the  history  of  which  has  been  given 
in  the  chapter  on  l^Lducational  History. 


CEMETERIES.  331 


WYOMING    CEMETERY. 


"  This  is  the  realm  of  Death,  who  impartially 

knocks  at  the  palace  and  the  cottage  gate." 

As  the  "Village  Cemetery"  was  getting  to  be  too  small  to 
accommodate  all  those  of  our  fast  growing  population  who 
were  joining  "  the  silent  majority,"  a  committee  was  appointed 
at  a  Town  Meeting  held  April  2,  1855,  consisting  of  Jonathan 
Cochran,  German  S.  Phippen  and  Aaron  Green,  to  seek  out  a 
site  for  a  new  cemetery.  They  reported  in  due  time,  and  in 
1856  a  tract  of  land  containing  about  twenty-one  acres  was 
bought  of  Joseph  Lynde,  at  a  cost  of  $5,961;  $3,475.18  was 
expended  in  laying  out  lots,  building  stone  walls  and  other 
necessary  expenses,  making  a  total  cost,  November  3,  1857,  of 
;S9,436.i8.  This  land  was  charmingly  situated  for  this  purpose 
on  the  southerly  side  of  Boston  Rock,  between  the  farms  of 
Mr.  Lynde  on  Main  Street,  and  that  of  Charles  Pratt  on 
Lebanon  Street,  with  the  wooded  region  on  the  south  and 
west,  now  known  as  Pine  Banks  Park.  Its  surface  contained 
hill,  dale  and  meadow,  and  it  has  proved  to  be  an  ideal  spot 
for  a  cemetery.  It  was  dedicated  in  July,  1857,  with  appro- 
priate exercises,  including  an  address  by  Hon.  Daniel  VV. 
Gooch.  It  now  contains  many  gravestones,  monuments  and 
tombs.  Some  of  the  monuments  arc  of  fine  workmanship  and 
elaborate  design. 

At  a  Town  Meeting  held  June  9,  1863,  the  following  action 
was  taken,  recognizing,  in  part,  our  indebtedness  to  those  who 
had  gone  forth  to  battle  for  the  Union: 

Voted,  That  the  Selectmen  be  authorized  to  set  apart  a  portion  of 
the  new  cemeter>'  for  the  use  of  those  soldiers  engaged  in  the  present 
war,  and  the  families  of  such  soldiers  as  may  choose  to  use  the  same. 

Not  until  1887  was  action  taken  on  the  above  vote.  Then 
these  Soldiers'  Lots  were  set  apart  by  the  Selectmen  in  the 
manner  shown  by  this  communication  : 

7o  the  Cemetery  Committee  of  the  To7vii  of  Melrose : 

Genti.emen:  —  Whereas,  at  a  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
town  held  on  the  ninth  day  of  June,  A.  D.,  1863,  under  Article  6  of  the 
warrant,  which  was  "  To  see  if  the  Town  will  set  off  and  appropriate  as 
a  free  burial  place  a  portion  of  the  new  cemetery  for  the  use  of  those 
soldiers  engaged  in  the  present  war,  and  the  families  of  such  as 
may  choose  to  use  the  same,"  it  was  Voted:  That  the  Selectmen  be 


332  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

authorized  to  set  apart  a  portion  of  the  new  cemetery  for  the  use  of 
those  soldiers  engaged  in  the  present  war  and  the  families  of  such 
soldiers  as  may  choose  to  use  the  same.  {Town  Records,  Book  i, 
page  425,)  And  whereas,  application  has  been  made  to  this  Board  by  a 
soldier  who  enlisted  on  the  quota  of  this  town  and  rendered  service, 
for  a  suitable  burial  place  for  a  member  of  his  family,  and  upon 
examination  we  find  that  the  vote  of  the  Town,  with  one  exception, 
has  not  been  complied  with ;  we  have  therefore  set  apart  in  Wyoming 
Cemetery,  a  plot  of  land  which  embraces  lots  numbered  from  648  to 
664,  on  the  plan  of  said  cemetery,  to  be  hereafter  known  as  the 
"  Soldiers'  Lots,"  to  be  given  such  persons  as  may  apply  for  the  same 
in  accordance  with  the  vote  passed  by  the  town. 

Levi  S.  Gould, 
John  B.  Souther, 
John  P,  Deering, 

Selectmen  of  Melrose. 

And  in  furtherance  of  this  purpose,  June  22,  1891,  it  was 
again  voted  : 

That  the  Town  Treasurer  be  and  is  hereby  authorized  to  execute, 
and  deliver  to  those  soldiers  or  their  families  who  were  permitted  to 
occupy  lots  in  Wyoming  Cemetery  under  a  vote  of  the  town  passed 
June  9,  1863,  proper  deeds  conveying  a  title  to  the  same  for  a  nominal 
sum. 

In  1887,  March  7,  a  committee  was  appointed  consisting  of 
George  Newhall,  Daniel  Russell  and  John  Larrabee  "to  see 
if  the  Town  will  purchase  or  take  land  for  cemetery  purposes." 
This  was  done  because  it  was  seen  that  very  soon  more  land 
must  be  added  to  Wyoming  Cemetery.  April  9,  that  committee 
reported  and  the  following  vote  was  passed  by  the  Town  : 

To  adopt  the  recommendations  of  the  committee,  and  that  the 
treasurer  be  and  he  is  hereby  authorized  to  accept  from  Charles  Pratt 
a  deed  of  his  farm  on  the  westerly  side  of  Lebanon  Street ;  that  the 
treasurer  be  further  authorized  to  issue  in  payment  therefor  a  note  of 
the  town  for  the  sum  of  ten  thousand  dollars,  payable  to  the  executors 
or  administrators  of  said  Pratt's  estate,  six  months  after  his  decease, 
bearing  interest  at  five  per  cent,  per  annum,  payable  semi-annually ; 
that  the  treasurer  shall  also  execute  and  deliver  unto  said  Charles 
Pratt  a  lease  of  the  buildings  and  not  exceeding  three  acres  of  the 
land,  surrounding  the  same,  which  lease  shall  be  valid  during  his 
natural  life ;  that  the  Board  of  Selectmen  be  authorized  to  countersign 
said  note  and  lease. 

This    farm    contained    twenty-eight    acres.     This    makes    a 


CEMETERIES. 


3:i8 


total  of  47%;  acres  of  land  in  the  present  Wyoming  Ceme- 
tery, and  the  total  value  as  given  in  the  Schedule  of  City 
Property  for  1901  is  $33,133.  At  the  death  of  Mr.  Pratt,  in 
1888,  the  note  was  paid  to  the  administrator  of  the  estate.  As 
no  part  of  the  land  is  yet  needed  for  the  extension  of  Cemetery 
purposes,  it  was  voted,  at  a  Town  Meeting  held  March  14, 
1898,  to  utilize  a  portion  of  this  farm  as  follows  : 

That  the  Town  authorize  the  Cemetery  Committee  to  transfer  the 
Pratt  Farm  House,  so  called,  with  such  portion  of  land  as  may  be 
agreed  upon  for  the  use  of  the  Almshouse,  to  the  Overseers  of  the 
Poor ;  and  that  they  be  empowered  to  establish  said  Pratt  Farm  House 
as  an  Almshouse. 

This  transfer  has  been  made,  and  the  mansion  house,  to- 
gether with  a  certain  number  of  acres  of  land,  has  been  set 
apart  for  the  benefit  of  the  poor  of  Melrose,  and  it  is  to  be 
known  as  the  Melrose  Pratt  Farm.  It  is  now  under  the  super- 
intendence of  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Herbert  W.  Chandler. 

At  a  Town  Meeting  held  November  12,  1887,  it  was  voted: 

That  the  Treasurer  be  authorized  to  receive  from  persons  holding, 
occupying,  or  interested  in  lots  in  Wyoming  and  Main  Street  ceme- 
teries, sums  of  money  which  may  be  paid  him  from  bequests  or  other- 
wise, the  interest  upon  which  shall  be  devoted  to  the  payment  for  care 
of  lots  in  said  cemeteries,  in  accordance  with  the  provisions  of  Chapter 
82,  Section  17,  Public  Statutes. 

As  the  Main  Street  Cemetery  has  been  vacated,  this  only 
applies  now  to  the  Wyoming  Cemetery.  These  are  known  as 
Cemetery  Trust  Funds;  and  the  following  deposits  have  beea 
made  for  this  purpose  up  to  the  present  time: 


1885.  Estate  Sally  Upham,        .... 

1886.  S.  B.  Cochrane, 

1887.  Estate  of  William  H.  Jones,  . 

1888.  Estate  of  Lynthia  L.  Burgess, 

1888.  C.  O.  and  Mrs.  Thomas  Robinson, 

1889.  Mrs.  Caroline  Curtis,       .... 
1889.  C.  E.  Daniels,  Treas.,  Winchester  Homt, 
1889.  Estate  J.  Vincent  Smith,  M.  D., 

1889.  Estate  of  Peter  Eflgerly. 

1890.  Mrs.  Sarah  Whovvell, 

1890.  William  A.  Fuller, 

1891.  Mrs.  J.  P.  Beckett, 

1891.  Louise  Earl, 

1892.  Daniel  Russell, 
1892.  Estate  of  Jonathan  Lynde, 


I200.00 
200.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
300.00 
200.00 
100. oa 
50.00 
150.00 
100.00 
100.00 
200.00 
loo.oo 


334 


HISTORY  OF  MBLROSE. 


1892. 
1892. 
1892. 
1893- 
1893- 
1894. 
1894. 
I894. 
1894. 
1894. 
1894. 

1895- 
1895. 

1895- 
1895- 
1895- 


1897. 
1897. 
1897. 
1897. 
1897. 
1898. 


1899. 
1900. 
1900. 
1900. 
1900. 
1900. 
1900. 
1900. 
1900. 
1900. 
1900. 
19CK) 
1 901. 
1901. 
1901. 
1 901. 
1 901. 
1901. 
1901. 
1901. 
1902. 
1902. 
1902. 


Mrs.  Joanna  Stackpole,   . 

Estate  of  Eliza  L.  Crocker, 

Hannah  Scrannage, 

Estate  of  George  N.  Noyes, 

Estate  of  James  H.  Little, 

Estate  of  Lucy  M.  A.  Payne, 

Estate  of  Charles  D.  Wild, 

Estate  of  Mary  G.  Upham, 

Elizabeth  and  George  E.  Fenn, 

Mrs.  Susan  P.  Whitney, 

Mrs.  Lizzie  M.  Linniken, 

Orrin  Brown, 

Mrs.  Mary  N.  Williams, 

William  A.  and  Walter  A.  Stone, 

Norman  F.  Hesseltine, 

Mrs.    Elizabeth    Wilson, 

Luciuda  Porter, 

Mrs.  Sarah  E.  Stilpheu, 

Estate  of  W.  H.  Upham 

Ruth  H.  Faxon, 

Thomas  D.  Lockwood, 

Herman  F.  Ehlert,   . 

Paul  M.  Giduey, 

Royal  P.  Barry,  Trustee 

Elizabeth  C.    Lovejoy, 

Thomas  Marshall,    . 

Joseph  D.  Wilde,     . 

Judith  B.  Mattoon,  . 

Charles  W.  Warner, 

Ernest  A.  Neilly,     . 

Estate  William  Bogle, 

Estate  Sarah  J.  Barrett, 

Estate  Charles  P.  F.  Frentz, 

Sarah  M.  Coats, 

Estate  Isaac  Emerson, 

Samuel    H.    Nowell, 

Evora  Brown, 

Bertha  Bareutine,    . 

Hiram  Cobb, 

Osmore  Jenkins, 

Ellen  R.  Shapleigh, 

Helen   E.  Backer,     . 

William  A.  Orcutt, 

Sarah  H.  Hunt, 

Julia  M.  Woods, 

Calvin  N.  Chapin,     . 

William  F.  R.  Bowers, 

Heman  J.  Pettengill, 

Minot  K.  Kendall,   . 

Orietta  E.  Simonds, 


$100.00 
100.00 

50.00 
100.00 
150.00 
150.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 

50.00 
150.00 
100  00 
100.00 
100.00 
200.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 

62.50 

50.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
150.00 

50.00 
150.00 
100.00 

50.00 

50.00 
150.00 
150.00 
150.00 
100.00 
150.00 
150.00 
100.00 
100.00 
150.00 
100.00 
150.00 
150.00 
100.00 
100.00 
100.00 
165.00 
100.00 
206.50 
150.00 
150.00 


CEMETERIES. 


385 


1902.  Frank  E.  Orcutt, 

1902.  Agnes  S.  Taylor, 

1902.  Caroline  C.  Skinner, 

1902.  A.    C.   Clausen, 

1902.  Estate  Ann  K.  Shelton, 


fioo.oo 
150.00 
100.00 
170.00 
i8o.oo 


Total,  18,684.00 


THE    JKWISH    CEMETERY. 

At  a  Town  Meetinor  held  November  30,  i860,  the  following 
vote  was  passed: 

That  the  Beth  Eil  Congregation  of  Israelites  be  allowed  to  purchase 
a  lot  of  land  on  Linwood  Avenue,  of  William  J.  Farnsworth,  for  burial 
purposes. 

In  accordance  with  this  vote,  this  lot  situated  on  the  west 
side  of  Linwood  avenue,  a  few  rods  north  of  Sylvan  Street, 
was  bought  and  dedicated  as  a  Jewish  Cemetery.  March  30. 
1875,  it  was  incorporated  as  the  "  Corporation  Beth  Eil." 
The  many  head-stones  and  monuments  contained  in  this  burial 
ground,  inscribed  with  Hebrew  characters,  indicate  that  it  has 
been  extensively  used  by  that  nation,  most,  if  not  all,  being 
non-residents  of  Melrose. 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 

THE  first  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  in  Melrose 
was  organized  June  24,  1858,  with  the  following  officers: 
Rev.  William   H.  Munroe,  President;  William  F.  Poole, 
Vice  President;  Stephen  A.  Shelton,  Corresponding  Secretary; 
Elbridge    H.  Goss,  Recording    Secretary;  George    N.  Noyes, 
Treasurer;  Guy  Lamkin,  William   H.  Allen   and  Fernando  C. 
^— -^-^^^       Taylor,  Directors.     It  met  in  the  Waverley  Build- 
/^'^Z^^^^^^^K    i'lgi  in  ^  room  up  one  flight,  corner  of  Essex  and 

(i(  ^"''' "   U)   Emerson    Streets,  the  rent  of  which  was  kindly 

^A\A»oci.tion/^  given  by  Messrs.  David  L.  and  John  G.  Webster. 
^^!Xb3^  Another  donation  was  a  handsome  Bible,  having 
upon  its  cover  the  following  inscription:  "  Presented  to  the 
Melrose  Y.  M.  C.  Association  by  H.  Furnas,  Vice  President 
of  the  Boston  Y.  M.  C.  Association,  Nov.,  1858."  It  would 
seem  that  the  town  was  not  large  enough  to  sustain  such  an 
association;  at  all  events,  it  was  a  short-lived  one,  continuing 
less  than  two  years. 

The  present  Association  was  organized  December  10,  1890. 
It  was  established  by  earnest  Christian  men,  who  met  in  ac- 
cordance with  a  call  issued  in  the  Mclro&e  yonr7ial  as  follows: 

It  is  proposed  to  organize  a  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
next  Wednesday  evening,  December  10,  at  8  o'clock,  at  Westgate's 
Hall,  Main  Street.  All  citizens  of  the  Town  and  every  young  man 
interested  in  having  such  an  organization  formed,  are  invited  to  be 
present  promptly  at  that  hour.  Albert  B.  Franklin,  Charles  C.  Barry, 
Royal  B.  Leighton,  Charles  S.  Macfarland,  Leonard  S.  Leighton, 
Franklin  P.  Shumway,  William  P.  Pierce,  Wingate  P.  Sargent,  Frank 
H.  Bosson,  William  Wooldridge. 

This  action  grew  out  of  a  conversation  previously  held  by  the 
six  first  named  gentlemen,  during  a  dinner  hour  at  Fellner's 
Restaurant,  in  Boston.  The  matter  had  been  in  the  minds  of 
quite  a  number  of  Christian  workers  for  some  months  previous 
to  this  determination;  and  was  now  established  for  the  moral 


YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION. 


387 


well-being  and  spiritual  benefit  of  the  young  men  of  Melrose; 
and  as  such,  it  has  been,  and  continues  to  be  a  most  beneficent 
institution,  exerting  a  powerful  influence  for  the  welfare  of 
this  community. 


Mi;i,KUSlv    Y.    M.    C.    A.    BUItDING. 

For  about  two  months  religious  services  were  held  in  West- 
gate  Hall,  and  in  March,  1891,  rooms  were  leased  in  the 
Westgate  building  at  No.  522  Main  Street,  now  owned  by  A. 
J.  Philbrick,  the  first  service  being  held  therein,  March  28,  1891. 

The  first  board  of  officers  was  as  follows:  Leonard  S. 
Leighton,  President;  Albert  B.  Franklin,  Vice  President;  P>ank 


388  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

H.  Bosson,  Clerk;  John  Larrabee,  Treasurer;  William  P. 
Pierce,  Charles  C.  Hodges.  Trueworthy  Xorris,  Franklin  P. 
Shumway.  Charles  S.  Macfarland  and  William  F.  Bacall, 
Directors. 

The  Association  was  incorporated  in  1S92,  and  the  growing 
necessity  for  enlarged  quarters,  and  the  desirability  of  having 
a  building  of  their  own,  suitable  for  all  the  Association  needs, 
became  the  prominent  and  absorbing  thought  of  its  members 
and  friends.  Numerous  meetings  were  held  with  this  objedt 
in  view,  and  plans  discussed.  Subscriptions  being  solicited, 
our  citizens  responded  generously;  and  in  due  time  sufficient 
money  had  been  raised  to  warrant  the  Association  to  begin 
the  building  which  persistent  labor  successfully  completed. 

The  old  Joseph  H.  Green  place  on  IMain  Street  was  pur- 
chased, ground  broken  and  the  corner-stone  laid  August  25, 
1894.  with  appropriate  services.  The  building  was  finished 
and  dedicated  April  r,  1895. 

It  is  a  handsome  three-story  brick  building,  main  part  70  b}' 
50  feet,  with  annex  50  by  40  feet,  possessing  all  of  the  up-to- 
date  appliances,  and  every  accommodation  to  be  found  in 
first-class  Associations.  The  street  floor  is  occupied  by  the 
Melrose  National  Bank  and  the  Melrose  Public  Library  and 
Reading  Room,  with  a  thoroughly  appointed  gymnasium  in 
the  rear.  A  fine  bowling-alley  is  situated  in  the  basement. 
The  office,  library-,  parlors  and  committee  rooms  are  on  the 
second  floor,  while  in  the  third  story  is  a  large,  well  lighted 
and  pleasant  hall,  with  stage  fittings,  for  meetings,  lectures  and 
entertainments.     Its  cost,  land  and  building,  was  $50,000. 

The  architects  were  Messrs.  Hartwell,  Richardson  &  Driver. 

The  Building  Committee:  Albert  B.  Franklin,  chairman; 
Leonard  S.  Leighton.  Royal  P.  Barry,  Moses  S.  Page,  William 
H.  Flanders.  George  E.  Gilchrist,  William  W.  Mason  and 
Trueworthy  Norris. 

x\s  to  the  building:  it  has  been  said  to  be  "  the  best  planned 
and  built  of  any  Y.  M.  C.  Association  building  in  this  country 
for  a  city  of  our  size."  In  proportion  to  the  population  its 
membership,  now  five  hundred  and  fifty,  is  the  largest  in  New 
England  if  not  in  the  United  States.  The  appointments  of  its 
gymnasium  exceed  those  of  many  of  the  larger  cities;  and  the 
building  and  work  is  approved  most  heartily  by  our  citizens  in 
general,  without  regard  to  church  affiliations;  "and  it  could 


YOUNG  MEN'S  CHRISTIAN  ASSOCIATION.  U^ 

not  to-day  be  well  spared  as  a  constructive  as  well  as  a  pre- 
ventive force  in  the  young  life  of  Melrose." 

"The  religious  work  of  the  Association  is  the  keystone  of  the 
entire  structure,  and  is  unsectarian.  Young  men  of  all  faiths 
or  religious  views  are  admitted  to  membership." 

There  is  a  physical  department  with  a  competent  instructor; 
and,  under  the  guidance  of  a  General  Secretary  and  board  of 
officers,  it  has  every  facilit}'  for  educational  opportunities, 
social  advantages  and  spiritual  privileges,  for  the  benefit  of 
our  young  men.  Gospel  services  are  held  every  Sunday  after- 
noon both  for  boys  and  young  men. 

Bible  readings  and  training  classes  are  held;  also  meetings 
for  prayer  and  the  study  of  the  Sunday  School  lessons.  In 
short  every  effort  is  made  to  throw  around  our  young  men 
every  facility  possible  and  every  influence  that  shall  elevate 
and  benefit  them  morally,  physically  and  spiritually. 

During  the  summer  seasons,  for  many  years  past,  open  air 
meetings  have  been  held  in  the  grove  at  Pine  Banks  Park, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  Association.  Its  first  General 
Secretary  was  Charles  S.  Macfarland,  who  was  appointed 
February  15,  1892,  and  served  until  January,  1893,  when  he 
resigned  and  entered  the  ministry.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Robert  W.  Matthews,  who  served  until  October,  1897,  when 
he  resigned  to  enter  another  field.  He  was  succeeded  by 
Bertram  E.  Lovejoy,  who  began  his  duties  in  March,  1898. 
He  continued  until  April  i,  1902,  when  he  was  succeeded  by 
the  present  Secretary,  Charles  M.  Brownell. 

The  first  President  of  the  Association  was  the  late  Leonard 
S.  Leighton,  who  served  from  the  date  of  organization,  Decem- 
ber 10,  1890,  until  May  9,  1896,  and  who  gave  much  time  and 
labor  to  the  work  in  its  early  days  ;  and  the  effects  of  his 
arduous  and  continuous  efforts  in  its  behalf,  will  long  be  felt 
in  the  Association.  He  was  succeeded  by  Albert  B.  Franklin, 
who  for  two  years  devoted  his  time  and  practical  talents  to  its 
best  interests.  May  9,  1898,  the  present  President,  William  A. 
Jepson,  was  elected. 

Very  soon  after  the  Association  was  founded,  the  Woman's 
Auxiliary  was  organized,  September  23,  1891,  with  a  charter 
membership  of  forty-five,  Mrs.  M.  W.  Lester,  as  first  President. 
She  was  succeeded  by  Mrs.  Albert  B.  F'ranklin,  August  22, 
1892,  who  served  until   May,  1897,  when  she  was  succeeded  by 


340  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Mrs.  William  H.  Flanders,  who  acted  for  three  years,  when 
Mrs.  W.  DeHaven  Jones  was  elected  and  served  until  the 
present  President,  Mrs.  Mary  E.  Lovejoy,  was  elected.  This 
Auxiliary  Association  has  been  of  very  great  benefit  to  the 
general  work  of  the  Association.  Under  its  management 
several  very  successful  fairs  have  been  held  ;  thus  adding  much 
needed  funds  to  the  treasury.  One,  the  "Calendar  Fair,"  held 
in  City  Hall,  November  14-16,  1893,  resulted  in  a  net  sum  of 
$2,160.  Another,  the  "Colonial  Fair,"  held  in  their  own  rooms, 
soon  after  the  dedication,  April  2-4,  1895,  raised  $2,200.  These 
proceeds  were  used  for  furnishing  the  new  building.  The 
committee  in  charge  of  the  furnishings  were  :  Franklin  P. 
Shumway,  Moses  S.  Page,  George  A.  Manning,  Mrs.  Moses 
S.  Page,  Mrs.  Albert  B.  Franklin  and  Mrs.  Royal  B.  Leighton, 
Another,  the  "Auxiliary  Fair,"  November  8-10,  1898,  raised 
$1,200  for  general  expenses.  Each  year  the  Auxiliary  Associa- 
tion gives  $25,  known  as  the  "  Helen  F.  Franklin  Fund,"  to 
supply  the  Reading  Room  with  the  best  magazines  and 
periodicals. 

For  a  number  of  years  there  has  been  an  organization  among 
the  members  called  the  Young  Men's  Congress.  It  has  its 
Speaker  and  other  officers,  and  representatives  for  the  different 
States.  Its  deliberations  have  given  experience  in  parliamen- 
tary tactics,  readiness  in  debate,  and  a  wide-spread  knowledge 
of  questions  of  National,  State,  and  local  importance. 

The  present  officers  of  the  Association  are  as  follows: 
President,  William  A.  Jepson;  Vice  Presidents,  Moses  S.  Page 
and  Charles  H.  Lang,  Jr.;  Treasurer,  Don  E.  Curtis;  Clerk^ 
Albert  F.  Henderson;  General  Secretary,  Charles  M.  Brownell; 
Auditor,  Charles  A.  Baker;  Physical  Director,  William  L. 
Kershaw;  Medical  Examiner,  Roscoe  D.  Perley,  M.  D.;  Direc- 
tors, George  E.  Briggs,  Ernest  L.  Carr,  Herbert  M.  Cox, 
William  H.  Flanders,  Albert  B.  Franklin,  Frank  G.  Kellogg, 
William  A.  Leonard,  Bertram  E.  Lovejoy,  Francis  P.  Luce, 
William  W.  Mason,  John  J.  Rink  and  Franklin  P.  Shumway; 
Trustees,  Albert  B.  Franklin,  Moses  S.  Page  and  William  H. 
Flanders. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

THE  melrosp:  hospital  association. 

ON  THE  28th  of  July,  1893,  at  the  residence  of  Decius 
Beebe,  on  West  Foster  Street,  the  Melrose  Hospital 
Association  was  organized,  with  forty-eight  corporate 
members.  This  institution  has  already  proven  itself  to  be  one 
of  the  most  important  yet  inaugurated;  one  of  very  great 
benefit  and  usefulness  to  the  community  at  large;  one  in 
which  all  the  citizens  of  Melrose,  high  and  low,  rich  and  poor, 
have  a  general  interest.  Its  object  as  stated  in  the  By-Laws 
is  as  follows: 

The  purpose  for  which  the  Association  is  constituted  is  to  establish 
and  maintain  a  hospital  for  the  treatment  and  care  of  needy,  sick  and 
disabled  persons  of  both  sexes,  and  also  of  persons  who  may  be  able 
to  pay  for  such  treatment  in  whole  or  in  part;  such  receipts  to  be 
used  in  the  partial  support  of  the  Hospital. 

The  following  officers  were  then  elected:  Royal  P.  Barry, 
President;  John  W.  P'arwell,  Vice  President;  Mrs.  S.  Maria 
Barry,  Clerk;  Decius  Beebe,  Treasurer;  Mrs.  Kate  E.  Beebe, 
Mrs.  Alice  B.  Dow,  Mrs.  Hannah  E.  Benson,  Mrs.  Ruby  F. 
Farwell,  Miss  Mary  L.  Charles,  Mrs.  Ida  F.  Isburgh,  Mrs.  A. 
C.  Marie  Currier,  Mrs.  May  E.  Lang,  Mrs.  Harriet  E.  Page, 
Royal  P.  Barry,  George  L.  Morse,  John  W.  F"arwell,  John  O. 
Norris,  B.  Marvin  Fernald,  Moses  S.  Page,  Victor  C.  Kirmes, 
Daniel  Russell  and  Henry  W.  Sawyer,  Trustees.  Most  of 
these  same  officers  are  now  serving,  having  been  re-elected 
October  22,  1901,  for  the  ninth  time.  The  exceptions  are  as 
follows:  Francis  W.  Hunt  in  place  of  John  O.  Norris;  Mrs. 
Charles  C.  Barry  in  place  of  Mrs.  S.  Maria  Barry,  Clerk; 
Samuel  II.  Hellcn  and  George  R.  Jones  in  place  of  Henry  W. 
Sawyer,  deceased,  and  Victor  C.  Kirmes.  Nine  of  these  officers 
form  the  executive  committee  of  which  George  L.  Morse  is 
chairman.     The  Association  consists  of  eighty-five  members. 

In  connection  with  the  Association,  the  Hospital   Guild  was 


342  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

formed  during  the  first  year.  The  present  list  of  its  officers  is 
as  follows:  President,  Mrs.  Nellie  B.  Sawyer;  Honorary  Presi- 
dent, Mrs.  John  W.  Farwell;  Vice  Presidents,  Mrs.  George  R. 
Jones,  Mrs.  Decius  Beebe  and  Mrs.  Charles  H.  Isburgh;  Cor- 
responding Secretary,  Mrs.  Frank  H.  Brown;  Recording 
Secretary,  Miss  Grace  Fernald;  Treasurer,  Mrs.  Jonathan  C. 
Howes;  Auditors,  Mrs.  Mary  C.  Houghton,  Mrs.  Charles  H. 
Adams  and  Mrs.  George  E.  Miller;  and  a  board  of  forty-two 
directors.     It  has  now  nearly  eight  hundred  members. 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  Guild,  fairs,  lawn  parties  and 
other  methods  of  raising  money  for  this  most  worthy  object 
are  directed.  Thus  far  two  very  successful  fairs  have  been 
held  in  City  Hall;  one,  designated  as  "The  Rainbow  Fair," 
netting  the  sum  of  ;?54,523.38;  another,  "The  Lantern  Fete," 
1^6,323.22. 

Each  }'ear  the  third  Sunday  in  May  is  set  apart  in  all  the 
churches  as  Hospital  Sunday  and  special  contributions  are  taken 
for  the  benefit  of  the  Hospital.  These  contributions  have 
been  as  follows;  in  1894,  1^205.40;  1895,  ^IQO-SS;  1896,  $272.73; 
1897,  $293.32;  1898,  $350.35;  1899,  $298.86;  1900,  $616.73;  1901, 
$320.73;   1902,  $291.20;  a  total  of  $2,900.67. 

Several  lawn  parties  have  been  held  on  the  spacious  grounds 
of  Moses  S.  Page,  each  one  realizing  a  considerable  sum  for 
the  Hospital  coffers;  the  one  for  June,  1901,  realized  $342.32. 
Through  the  instrumentality  of  Mrs.  Georgianna  N.  Bordman, 
two  performances  of  her  unique  and  original  operetta,  "  The 
Market  Day,"  were  given  in  City  Hall,  which  netted  a  hand- 
some sum  for  the  same  object. 

For  some  years  past  the  Town,  and  now  the  City  has 
appropriated  the  sum  of  $1,000  toward  the  current  expenses  of 
the  Hospital.  The  total  expenses  for  the  year  from  October 
1900  to  October  1901,  were  $9,506.58  ;  the  income  from  all 
sources  has  been  insufficient  thus  far  for  current  expenses;  thus 
leaving  a  deficiency  each  year,  which  has  to  be  met  by 
subscriptions,  fairs,  or  other  outside  methods. 

Each  year  an  annual  report  is  issued  in  pamphlet  form,  con- 
taining the  addresses  of  the  Presidents,  Hospital  and  Guild,  and 
reports  of  the  Secretaries  and  Treasurers  of  both  organizations. 
It  has  also  names  of  members  of  both,  lists  of  donations,  and 
various  other  matters  pertaining  to  the  Hospital  and  its  work. 

In  connection  with  the  regular  hospital  work,  classes  for  the 


THE  MELROSE  HOSPITAL  ASSOCIATION. 


;U3 


training  of  nurses  are  regularl\-  held,  in  which  studies  are 
pursued,  lectures  by  our  city's  physicians  given,  and  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  hospital  duties  acquired  ;  a  class  graduating  each 
year.  Of  these  nurses  thus  trained,  the  late  Mrs.  S.  Maria 
Barry,  then  the  Secretary,  said  in  her  second  annual  report  : 

Many  homes  have  been  cheered  and  helped  by  their  presence  in 
times  of  sickness  and  death,  and  we  have  received  many  proofs  of  the 
good  which  they  have  accomplished,  and  also  of  the  value  of  the 
institution  which  they  represent. 

With  the  passage  of  time,  and  the  lapse  of  several  more 
years,  these  beneficial  results  have  been  greatly  augmented. 
The  Hospital  was  first  established  at  No.  39  Oakland  Street. 


TlIK    Ml.l.kOSl-;    U()S1'1T.\I,. 

The  house  was  soon  found  to  be  inadequate  to  llu-  tUinands. 
After  a  two  years'  occupancy,  the  homestead  of  the  late 
William  Bailey,  on  Myrtle  Street,  was  purchased  for  the 
sum  of  S6,000,  George  Ilart  kindl}-  taking  a  mortgage  on  the 
same  for  $5,000.  It  was  inimediatt;ly  altered,  arranged  and 
fitted  up  with  most  excellent  accommodations,  and  the  Hospi- 
tal removed  to  these  more  spacious  quarters. 

During    this  same  year,  1894,  the  Association   purchasctl    a 
lot  of  laiul  on  the  corner  of  Lebanon  and    Portc-r  Streets,  con- 


344  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

taining  70,000  feet,  for  the  sum  of  $6,948.40,  on  which  a  mortgage 
was  at  first  placed,  but  which  has  since  been  paid  off,  by  means 
of  generous  subscriptions  from  man}'  of  our  citizens;  among 
them  may  be  mentioned  one  of  $2,000  from  the  late  Mrs. 
Harriet  A.  Bigelow,  who  ever  evinced  the  warmest  interest  in 
the  success  of  the  Hospital.  In  her  will  she  left  a  bequest  of 
$5,000  which  was  received  in  1898.  On  this  land  it  is  hoped 
and  expected  that  a  Hospital  Building  may  be  erected  in  the 
near  future,  that  shall  be  large  enough  to  meet  the  wants  and 
demands  of  Melrose  for  this  purpose,  for  many  years  to  come. 
The  Hospital  Building  Fund  now  amounts  to  $9,696.83.  To 
give  some  idea  of  the  great  amount  of  work  done,  year  by 
year,  the  following  statistics  are  gi\'en,  taken  from  the  annual 
report  for  1900: 

Two  hundred  and  thirty-eight  patients  have  been  treated;  one 
hundred  and  forty-eight  surgical,  fifty-four  medical,  eighteen  obstetrical, 
and  eighteen  children  born.  Of  this  number  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
have  paid  full  rates,  twenty-two  have  paid  partial  rates,  fifty-one  city 
patients  and  fifty  were  free.  The  smallest  number  in  the  Hospital 
during  twenty-four  hours  was  five ;  the  largest  number  eighteen.  The 
nativity  of  the  patients  admitted  during  the  year  is  as  follows :  United 
States,  183;  Canada,  23;  Ireland,  14;  England,  6;  Germany,  3; 
Italy,  I  ;  Greece,  i  ;  Scotland,  1  ;  Russia,  2 ;  Bavaria,  i  ;  Holland,  i  ; 
Sweden,  i  ;  and  Turkey,  i  ;  total,  23S. 

The  figures  for  1901  vary  but  little  from  those  of  1900,  the 
total  number  of  patients  treated  being  235. 

A  free  bed  fund  has  been  established  and  the  sum  now 
amounts,  by  accumulation  year  by  year,  to  $1,412.82. 

The  Nurses'  Home.  This  much  needed  and  very  necessary 
adjunct  to  a  well-equipped  Hospital,  has  been  added  to  this 
admirable  and  well  managed  institution.  The  property  at  the 
corner  of  West  Foster  and  Myrtle  Streets  adjoining  the  Hospi- 
tal grounds,  has  been  leased,  and  furnished  in  a  complete 
manner  for  a  nurses'  home.  This  was  the  home  for  man)' 
years  of  the  late  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Andrew  W.  Haskell.  It  now 
belongs  to  the  Hon.  John  Larrabee,  who  has  put  the  house  in 
the  most  thorough  repair.  It  has  received  money  and  furniture 
from  our  citizens  sufificient  to  give  it  every  convenience,  and 
to  malce  of  it  a  most  delightful  home  for  these  workers  for  the 
sick  and  suffering. 

Of  the  Hospital  and  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  work.  President  Barry 
spoke  as  follows  in  his  eighth  annual  address  : 


THE  MELROSE  HOSPITAL  ASSOCIATION.  345 

A  city  is  generally  famous  by  the  measure  of  its  good  works.  We 
n  Melrose  cannot  hope  to  be  known  as  the  richest  suburb  of  Boston, 
nor  can  we  be  noted  as  Cambridge  is  noted,  but  there  are  certain 
institutions  which  tend  to  make  it  notable  among  the  smaller  cities  of 
our  Commonwealth.  Among  them  is  the  Young  Men's  Christian 
Association  and  the  Melrose  Hospital.  They  deserve,  and  are  en- 
titled to,  the  heartiest  support  of  every  good  citizen,  and  as  the  years 
go  by  it  will  be  found  that  in  such  measure  as  similar  institutions 
flourish  and  grow,  in  just  such  measure  will  the  city  command  respect 
as  the  home  of  good,  sturdy,  middle-class  men,  who  can  spare  time 
from  their  business  pursuits  to  take  some  interest  in  the  well-being  of 
their  neighbors. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

PUBLIC  LIBRARY. 

THE  inception  and  early  history  of    the    Melrose   Public 
Library    cannot    be    better    told   than  by  the  following 
extract  from  the  first  annual  report  of  the  Trustees  of 
that  institution: 

As  the  formation  of  a  Public  Library  is  an  event  of  great  importance, 
we  desire  to  place  upon  record  the  few  facts  connected  with  its  early 
history.  Several  years  ago  some  of  the  leading  men  of  the  town 
issued  a  call  for  a  meeting,  to  be  held  in  the  Selectmen's  room, 
Lyceum  Hall,  for  the  purpose  of  establishing  a  Public  Library.  A 
subscription  paper  was  circulated,  and  received  some  names,  but  no 
further  action  was  ever  taken.  The  next  public  announcement  appears 
in  the  warrant  for  the  last  annual  town  meeting,  and  the  credit  for 
bringing  forward  the  plan,  which  has  been  adopted,  belongs  to  David 
Fairbanks,  Esq.  We  are  glad  also  to  acknowledge  that  his  action  in 
this  matter  did  not  stop  here,  as  he  seconded  the  same  by  a  liberal 
donation  of  books,  the  number  of  which  appears  in  our  annexed  list. 
While  the  credit  of  this  action  belongs  to  the  gentleman  named,  the 
action  of  the  Franklin  Fraternity  taken  almost  simultaneously,  deserves 
equal  commendation.  Upon  two  occasions  the  project  of  a  PubUc 
Library  has  been  pressed  upon  the  attention  of  this  Association ;  the 
last  occasion  being  only  one  month  before  this  town  meeting  at  which 
the  vote  was  taken.  At  their  next  regular  meeting,  held  only  two 
weeks  before  the  Town  Meeting,  the  project  was  again  brought  for- 
ward, and  amid  much  enthusiasm  a  committee  was  appointed,  and 
money  subscribed,  to  form  the  nucleus  of  a  Library,  and  when  of 
reasonable  size  present  the  same  to  the  town.  Between  this  meeting 
and  the  meeting  in  April,  the  warrant  appeared  with  its  announce- 
ment, and  the  action  of  the  town  was  taken.  As  soon  as  this  action 
was  known,  the  plans  of  the  "  Fraternity"  were  altered  in  accordance 
with  the  situation,  and  nearly  two  hundred  dollars  were  placed  in  the 
hands  of  the  committee  as  their  donation.  The  selection  was  limited 
to  American  authors,  and  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  volumes,  com- 
prising the  works  of  Irving,  Hawthorne,  Motley,  Bancroft,  Lossing, 
Parton,  Mitchell,  Taylor,  etc.,  were  presented  to  the  town  as  the  basis 
of  a  Public  Library. 


PUBLIC  LIBRARY.  347 

The  action  of  the  Town  referred  to  took  place  March  27, 
1871,  at  a  meeting  held  in  Concert  Hall,  when  the  following 
vote  was  passed  : 

That  the  money  now  in  the  Treasury,  refunded  to  the  town  by  the 
County  Treasurer,  pursuant  to  Chapter  250  of  the  Acts  of  the  Legisla- 
ture in  1869,  and  all  that  shall  hereafter  accrue  to  the  town  under  said 
act,  be  appropriated  for  a  "  Public  Library  and  Reading  Room." 
That  a  committee  of  three  be  chosen  at  this  meeting,  who  shall  be 
called  "  The  Trustees  of  the  Melrose  Public  Library;"  that  they  be 
invested  with  full  power  to  provide  and  fit  up  a  suitable  place  therefor, 
prepare  rules  and  regulations,  purchase  books,  solicit  donations,  and 
have  the  general  management  thereof,  during  the  year,  to  the  next 
annual  meeting,  then  to  make  a  full  report  of  their  doings. 

Frederic  Kidder,  Elbridge  H.  Goss  and  Charles  C.  Barry 
were  elected  Trustees,  and  they  organized  as  follows  :  Mr. 
Kidder,  Chairman,  Mr.  Goss,  Treasurer,  and  Mr.  Barry, 
Secretary.  The  money  then  in  the  Treasury  was  known  as 
the  "  dog  tax,"  and  the  amount  on  hand  at  that  time  with  which 
to  buy  books  and  found  the  Library  was  $624.85.  With  this 
amount,  with  donations,  and  with  the  gift  of  the  Franklin 
Fraternity,  the  Trustees  were  enabled  to  report  at  the  end  of 
the  3'ear,  a  Library  containing  1,504  volumes;  of  which  839 
were  purchased  and  665  donated.  A  copy  of  the  Holy  Bible, 
printed  in  1826,  was  volume  number  one  in  our  Library  ;  when 
the  present  system  of  classifying  the  books  was  adopted  in 
1897,  't  became  number  601. i. 

A  room  in  Waverley  Block,  Essex  Street  was  at  this  time 
being  used  temporarily  by  the  Selectmen,  Daniel  Russell, 
James  C.  Currier  and  John  H.  Clark.  By  the  courtesy  and 
considerateness  of  this  Board,  the  room  was  divided  by  a  parti- 
tion, and  the  rear  half  assigned  for  the  Library's  use.  Here, 
in  these  narrow  quarters  commenced  the  career  of  the  Melrose 
Public  Library.  The  Trustees,  aided  by  a  number  of  volun- 
teers, covered  the  books — a  system  since  discarded — and 
prepared  them  for  circulation.  They  also  served  as  Librarians 
until  the  following  March,  during  which  time  several  of  the 
young  men  from  the  High  School  assisted  in  the  delivery  of 
books.  During  the  next  year,  March,  1872  to  March,  1873, 
C.  Edward  Prior  acted  as  Librarian,  being  assisted  meantime 
by  Frank  M.  Edwards,  George  A.  Wilde,  Frank  D.  Wilde  and 
George  T.  Gately.   In  March,  1873,  Miss  Carrie  M.  Worthen  was 


348  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

cho*en  Librarian,  who  has  filled  that  position  ever  since  with 
ability  and  constant  fidelity.  For  a  number  of  years  Miss 
Rosa  INI.  Gibbons  was  the  assistant  Librarian;  she  is  now  con- 
nected with  the  Maiden  Public  Library.  The  present  assistant 
is  Miss  Mary  Ella  Dix. 

During  the  first  year  seven  hundred  and  eleven  persons 
availed  themselves  of  the  Library  privileges.  From  that  day 
to  this  the  Town  and  City  has  regularly  appropriated  the 
"  dog  tax  "  together  with  an  additional  appropriation,  begin- 
ning with  one  of  ^650  in  1872,  and  gradually  increasing  it  until 
it  became  $3,000  in  1900;  but  in  1902  it  was  reduced  to  $2,500. 
The  Library  remained  in  its  first  quarters  until  the  Town  Hall 
was  built  in  1874,  when  it  occupied  the  northeast  corner  room, 
where  it  remained  until  April  i,  1895.  ^^  then  removed  to  its 
present  quarters  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
Building,  which  were  taken  upon  a  five  years'  lease. 

Although  the  original  vote  passed  in  1871,  was  to  establish 
a  "public  library  and  reading-room,"  this  important  adjunct 
was  not  opened  until  fourteen  years  later,  December  16,  1885. 
This  was  then  established  in  the  middle  room  on  the  east  side, 
just  across  the  aisle  from  the  Library  room  ;  since  which  time 
it  has  become  a  very  important  and  necessary  addition. 

In  1873,  two  additional  members  were  added  to  the  Trustees, 
Miss  Addie  A.  Nichols  and  Miss  Hannah  Lynde.  These  five 
Trustees  were  regularly  elected  until  the  year  1884,  when  the 
Chairman,  Mr  Kidder,  being  in  ill  health,  resigned,  and  Mr. 
Goss  was  elected  Chairman.  Thomas  B.  Peck  was  elected  to 
fill  the  vacancy.  Miss  Nichols,  resigning.  Miss  Phebe  Norris, 
now  Mrs.  Benneson  took  her  place,  but  resigned  shortly  after 
to  make  her  residence  in  the  west,  and  Mrs.  Ruby  F.  Farwell 
was  elected  to  fill  the  vacancy.  In  1887,  Mr.  Peck  and  Miss 
Lynde  resigned,  and  Charles  A.  Patch  and  Miss  Mary  L. 
Charles  were  elected  to  fill  the  vacancies.  In  1891  the  Board 
was  increased  to  six  members  and  George  E.  Munroe  was 
added. 

The  system  of  election  was  changed  in  1893,  so  that  the 
office  of  two  members  should  expire  each  year,  and  two  be 
elected  annually  for  three  years.  No  change  took  place  in  the 
personnel  of  the  board  until  the  city  was  incorporated  when  Neil 
A.  Divver  and  Mrs.  Maria  L.  Chapin  were  appointed  by  Mayor 
Gould,    in   place    of  George    E.    Munroe,    and    Miss   Mary  L 


PUBLIC  LIBRARY.  34» 

Charles.  When  the  Chairman,  Mr.  Goss,  was  elected  an  alder- 
man for  1901,  it  became  necessary  for  him  to  resign  after  a 
service  of  thirty  years,  as  the  charter  forbade  an  alderman  to 
hold  two  offices,  and  Edward  M.  Munyan  was  appointed  to  fill 
the  vacancy.  In  February,  1901,  Mrs.  Farwell  resigned,  and 
Miss  Mary  L.  Charles  was  appointed  to  fill  her  place.  The 
Board  of  Trustees  as  now  constituted,  1902,  is  as  follows : 
Charles  A.  Patch,  Treasurer,  and  Miss  Mary  L.  Charles,  three 
years;  Neil  A.  Divver  and  Mrs.  Maria  A.  Chapin,  Secretary^ 
two  years,  and  Charles  C.  Barry,  Chairman,  and  Edward  M. 
Munyan,  one  year.  Mr.  Barry  has  served  as  Secretary  during 
sixteen  years  in  the  history  of  the  Library,  Mrs.  Farwell  two 
years,  Miss  Charles  five  years,  and  Mr.  Munroe  served  seven 
years  until  1900,  when  Mrs.  Maria  L.  Chapin  was  elected  to- 
that  position,  which  she  now  holds.  Mr.  Goss  served  as  Treas- 
urer from  its  establishment  in  1871,  until  elected  Chairman  in 
1884,  when  Mr.  Patch  was  elected  in  his  place,  and  he  still 
holds  that  position. 

The  Library  has  received  several  valuable  donations.  Besides 
the  125  volumes  given  as  a  nucleus,  by  the  Franklin  Fraternity^ 
and  nearly  one  thousand  Congressional  volumes  which  cover 
the  War  and  Reconstruction  periods  of  our  country's  history, 
by  Hon.  Daniel  W.  Gooch,  many  other  citizens  have  given 
one  or  more  volumes  at  different  times.  Among  other  gifts 
are  these:  An  engraving,  "The  Senate  of  the  U.  S.  of  the 
time  of  Henry  Clay,"  by  Mrs.  Charlotte  Cochran;  a  hand- 
some Howard  clock,  "  Presented  to  the  Melrose  Public  Library 
by  the  children  of  the  Mother  Goose  Club,  January  20,  1886," 
from  the  proceeds  of  an  entertainment  given  by  this  Club, 
under  the  direction  of  Mrs.  Georgianna  N.  Bordman;  a  bust 
of  Hon.  Samuel  E.  Sewall,  by  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore;  an  oil 
painting,  by  Pearson  of  the  "  Lynde  Farm  House,"  corner  of 
Main  Street  and  Goodyear  Avenue,  by  George  Emerson;  two 
very  large  photographs  of  the  "  Roman  Forum,"  and  the 
"Colosseum,"  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Edward  K.  Bordman;  an  old 
fashioned  chair,  by  Miss  Sarah  Chever,  of  the  old  "Ezra 
Vinton  House,"  at  the  Highlands,  and  two  valuable  remem- 
brances; one,  the  portrait  of  the  late  Hon.  Daniel  W.  Gooch, 
given  by  Mrs.  Gooch  and  her  son  William  W.  Gooch;  the 
other,  a  replica  of  Anne  Whitney's  bust  of  Mrs.  Mary  Ashton 
Livermore,  given  by  her  husband,  the  late  Rev.  Daniel  P. 
Livermore. 


350  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

The  Library  has  also  received  several  bequests:  The  first  is 
known  as  the  "  Horatio  Nelson  Perkins  Fund,"  which  was  given 
by  the  executors  of  Mr.  Perkins'  will,  in  accordance  with  a 
pencilled  memorandum  found  among  his  papers,  which  read 
as  follows: 

$500 — to  the  Melrose  Public  Library,  etc.,  in  trust,  and  the  annual 
income  of  the  same  is  to  be  expended  for  the  purchase  of  books 
forever. 

This  was  in  1883.  I^i  1888  another  gift  of  ^lOO  known  as 
the  "  William  Emerson  Barrett  Fund,"  is  devoted  to  books 
bearing  upon  building,  furnishing  and  decorating  homes.  In 
1895,  William  Bailey  left  in  his  will  a  bequest  to  the  Library 
which  has  amounted  to  ^2,500;  this  is  known  as  the  "William 
Bailey  Fund,"  and  only  its  income  can  be  expended  for  books. 

The  number  of  volumes  in  the  Library  January  i,  1902,  was 
14,012,  besides  the  thousand  or  more  Congressional  volumes 
not  yet  catalogued,  and  2,056  pamphlets.  The  number  of  cards 
issued  to  persons  using  the  Library,  7,257.  Largest  number  of 
books  taken  out  in  one  month,  6,618,  total  for  the  year  1901, 
60,814.  The  number  of  persons  using  the  reading  room  in 
1901  was  29,038. 

The  following  table  gives,  for  the  different  years  since  the 
Library  was  established,  the  annual  appropriation,  the  number 
of  volumes  purchased  annually,  the  number  donated  and  the 
annual  circulation: 

Volumes     Volumes 
Year.  Appropriatiou.  Dog  Tax.  Purchased.  Donated.  Circulation. 

1871 *$937.16  839  665  t3,189 

1872 $650.00  308.02  431  41  13,240 

1873 550.00 238  17  14,004 

1874 800.0)  324.87  270  94  17,650 

1875 500.00  367.08  187  53  22,592 

1876 450.00  460.80  351  72  23,703 

1877 400.00  448.75  390  24  27,152 

1878 400.00  437.47  295  3  J25,458 

1879 200.00  419.24  176  5  30,940 

1880 500.00  392.16  357  17  29,764 

1881 500.00  401.58  297  10  28,983 

1882 500.00  393.98  314  6  28,074 

1883 800.00  451.98  342  33  28,258 

1884 500.00  509.83  396  25  29,447 

1885  •  •  •■ 750.00  573.85  583  71  30,663 

*  Three  years.   ,  t  Two  mouths.         X   Ten  months. 


PUBLIC  LIBRARY.  H51 

Volumes     Volumes 
Year.  Appropriation.  Dog  Tax.  Purchased.  Donated.  Circulation. 

1886. 51750.00  $698.40  404  36  28,952 

1887 T.JO.OO  774.90  375  27  31,336 

1888 750.00  961.78  406  9  32,986 

1889 7.50.00  1,090.96  369  10  33,052 

1890 7.50.00  1,194.91  510  14  30,534 

189] 1,000.00  1,079.65  408  47  31,425 

1892 1,000.00  1,087.22  539  16  34,093 

1893 1,200.00  1,046.22  459  5  32,157 

1894 1,000.00  1,076.49  411  12  41,208 

1895 3,.500.00  1,052.24  480  13  36,276 

1896 2,500.00  1,066.09  493  19  44,062 

1897 2,(500.00  1,039.68  301  22  38,674 

1898 2,600.00  1,031.23  467  20  55,838 

1899 2,800.00  958.93  381  24  61,945 

190(1 2,800.00  1,016.51  487  27  60,001 

1901 3,000.00  1,033.60  644  18  60,814 

The  new  rooms  in  the  Young  Men's  Christian  Association 
were  furnished  and  opened  during  the  year  1895;  this  with  the 
annual  rent,  $1,200  per  annum,  accounts  for  the  large  increase 
in  appropriation.  When  the  first  five  years  expired,  April  i, 
1901,  the  rent  was  reduced  from  Si,200  to  $1,000  per  annum. 
A  new  lease  was  taken  with  a  clause  inserted  giving  the 
Trustees  the  right  to  terminate  it  upon  giving  a  six  months' 
notice.  This  was  done  because  of  the  fact  that  the  Library 
was  fast  outgrowing  its  present  accommodations,  and  because 
of  the  hope  that  by  some  action  of  the  City,  or  of  some  one  of 
our  citizens,  steps  might  be  taken  to  provide  a  Library  building. 

Melrose  had  been  waiting  long  for  some  one  of  its  wealthy 
citizens,  to  whom  appeal  after  appeal  had  been  made,  to  give 
it  a  Library  building;  or,  to  have  the  City  itself  take  action  in 
the  matter  ;  but  it  waited  in  vain.  When  the  Hon.  Andrew 
Carnegie  began  to  distribute  his  immense  wealth  by  donating 
Library  buildings  to  different  cities  and  towns  throughout  the 
Union,  and  to  found  educational  institutions  at  home  and 
abroad,  it  occurred  to  a  number  of  our  citizens,  realizing  that 
the  future  might  not  be  any  more  favorable  than  the  past,  in 
fulfilment  of  its  wishes,  that  possibly  Mr.  Carnegie  might  be 
induced  to  consider  our  own  City  with  favor ;  and  he  was 
written  to  upon  the  subject  by  quite  a  number.  Among  these 
writers  was  Mayor  John  Larrabee  ;  and,  after  a  considerable 
correspondence,  he  had  the  very  great  satisfaction  of  announc- 
ing in  his  second  inaugural  address,  delivered  January  6,  1902, 
a  gift  from  Mr.  Carnegie  in  the  following  letter: 


352  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Mayor  Larrabee,  Melrose,  Mass. 

Dear  Sir:  Responding  to  your  letter:  If  the  City  of  Melrose  will 
pledge  itself  by  Resolution  of  Councils  to  support  Free  Library  at 
cost  of  not  less  than  Twenty-five  hundred  dollars  a  year,  and  provide 
a  suitable  site,  Mr.  Carnegie  will  be  glad  to  furnish  Twenty-five 
thousand  dollars  for  a  Free  Library  Building. 

Respectfully  yours, 

Dec.  31,  1901.  Jas.  Bertram,  Private  Secretary. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  held  the  same  day, 
William  A.  Carrie,  Oliver  B.  Munroe,  Aaron  Hill,  Jr.,  Albert 
B.  Franklin  and  Edward  S.  Page  were  appointed  a  committee 
"  to  suitably  acknowledge  the  generous  gift  of  Andrew 
Carnegie,  Esq.,  and  made  such  recommendations  as  may  seem 
best;"  and  at  a  meeting  of  the  Board,  January  20,  the  following 
resolutions  were  submitted  by  that  committee  and  passed 
unanimously: 

Whereas,  The  City  of  Melrose,  through  His  Honor  the  Mayor  has 
been  tendered  the  sum  of  $25,000  by  Andrew  Carnegie,  Esq.,  of  New 
York,  for  a  free  library  building,  upon  condition  that  the  city  of 
Melrose,  through  its  board  of  aldermen,  agrees  to  appropriate  the  sum 
of  $2,500  annually  in  support  of  the  same  and  provide  a  suitable 
building  site : 

Resolved,  That  the  Board  of  Aldermen  of  the  city  of  Melrose 
hereby  accepts  the  generous  offer  of  Mr.  Carnegie  and  agrees  to  the 
conditions  named  therein. 

Resolved,  That  His  Honor  the  Mayor  be  requested  to  convey  to 
Mr.  Carnegie  the  hearty  thanks  and  appreciation  of  the  citizens  of 
Melrose  for  his  large-hearted  liberality  in  providing  means  to  build  a 
suitable  building  for  free  library  purposes. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  February  ii,  it  was 
voted  to  erect  the  new  Library  building  on  the  old  "  High 
School  Lot,"  so  called,  situated  on  the  corner  of  West  Emerson 
Street  and  Lake  Avenue.  This  was  the  spot  selected  by  the 
Committee  who  built  the  High  School  building  in  1870,  as 
being  centrally  located,  and  as  accommodating  the  scholars 
from  all  parts  of  the  town  better  than  any  other  site  then 
available.  That  was  central  then,  and  is  so  now;  being  within 
a  very  few  rods  of  the  residential  centre  of  Melrose.  It  is 
situated  on  a  handsome,  quiet  street,  surrounded  by  beautiful 
residences,  halfway  between  steam  and  electric  railroads,  away 
from  the  din  and  turmoil  of  traffic  and  travel.  It  contains 
30,375  square  feet 


PUBLIC  LIBRARY.  353 

At  this  same  meeting  the  Mayor  was  authorized  to  transmit 
to  Mr.  Carnegie  a  certified  copy  of  the  deed  of  this  land  now 
adopted  as  the  site  for  the  Mehose  Public  Library. 

At  the  next  meeting  of  the  Board,  February  17,  the  Mayor 
vetoed  the  above  action,  on  the  ground  that  it  was  a  question 
which  ought  not  to  be  settled  until  after  a  public  hearing  had 
been  held;  and  his  veto  was  sustained,  six  aldermen  voting 
for  and  twelve  against,  not  two-thirds  as  required  to  pass  over 
a  veto.  In  accordance  with  this  action  it  was  voted  to  hold  a 
public  hearing  on  the  evening  of  March  18.  This  was  accord- 
ingly held  in  the  City  Hall,  John  G.  Robinson  presiding.  The 
subject  of  site  was  very  thoroughl\'  discussed  by  the  following 
gentlemen:  those  in  favor  of  the  High  School  lot  being, 
George  R.  Jones,  Charles  H.  Adams,  Royal  P.  Barry,  Charles 
C.  Barry,  Elbridge  H.  Goss  and  Daniel  J.  Lucey;  those  against, 
Edwin  S.  Small  and  John  J.  McCullough.  The  sentiment  of 
the  large  audience  present  was  largely  in  favor  of  the  above 
site  and  it  was  so  expressed  by  vote. 

At  the  following  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  March 
27,  the  question  was  finally  settled  in  favor  of  the  Emerson 
Street  lot  by  a  vote  of  twenty  to  one. 

Notwithstanding  the  fact  that  the  city  charter  is  very  explicit, 
denying  the  right  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen  to  act  on  any 
committee  wherein  the  expenditure  of  money  for  the  city  is 
concerned,  the  question  had  arisen  in  the  Board  as  to  who 
should  build  the  new  Public  Library  ;  should  it  be  by  a  com- 
mittee appointed  from  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  or  by  the 
Mayor,  with  an  advisory  committee  selected  from  the  citizens 
outside  the  Board.  Some  thought  one  way,  some  another  ; 
this  arose  from  a  misunderstanding  as  to  just  how  the  money 
was  to  be  paid  by  Mr.  Carnegie;  whether  as  a  whole  to  the 
City,  or  in  part,  to  a  committee,  as  the  work  progressed.  Cor- 
respondence between  the  Mayor  and  Mr.  Carnegie  developed 
the  fact  that  all  money  would  be  sent  direct  to  the  City. 

Meanwhile  the  opinion  of  the  City  Solicitor  had  been 
requested  on  the  subject  by  the  Board.  This  was  submitted  at 
the  meeting  held  April  28,  and  was  very  explicit;  showing 
conclusively  that  no  committee  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen 
could  serve  on  said  committee.  The  following  vote  was  then 
passed  unanimously  : 

In  Board  of  Aldermen,  April  28,  1902. 
Be  it  ordered,  that  a  public  library  building  be  erected  on  the  old 


354  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

High  School  lot,  so  called,  on  Emerson  Street,  that  the  Mayor  be 
authorized  to  contract  for  the  same  at  a  cost  not  to  exceed  Twenty- 
five  thousand  ($25,000)  dollars,  and  that  the  City  Treasurer  be  and 
hereby  is  authorized  to  pay  all  sums  of  money  which  may  be  presented 
or  paid  to  the  city,  either  directly  or  to  its  Mayor,  Treasurer,  or  other 
public  officer,  by  Andrew  Carnegie,  or  any  other  person  or  persons, 
for  the  purpose  of  constructing  said  public  library  building,  to  be  paid 
out  on  account  of  the  contract  to  build  it,  by  the  City  Treasurer  from 
time  to  time  as  received  and  requested. 

John  G.  Robinson, 

President  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen. 
April  28,  1902.     In  Board  of  Aldermen.     Order  ordained. 

W.  DeHaven  Jones,  Clerk, 
April  30,  1902.     Approved.  John  Larrabee,  Mayor. 

The  Mayor  at  once  took  action  in  the  matter  by  appointing 
an  advisory  committee  of  ten  to  act  in  conjunction  with  him- 
self in  the  erection  of  the  new  building.  In  his  letter  of 
notification  under  date  of  May  5,  he  says: 

I  am  authorized,  by  vote  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  to  enter  into  a 
contract  for  the  erection  of  a  public  library  building. 

You  are  respectfully  and  cordially  invited  to  serve  on  an  advisory 
committee  to  assist  me  in  the  selection  of  a  plan  for  the  building,  the 
awarding  of  the  contract,  etc. 

The  gentlemen  selected  by  the  Mayor  were  as  follows: 
Chester  Shepard,  ward  one;  Clinton  White  and  Stephen  F. 
Keyes,  ward  two;  Elbridge  H.  Goss,  ward  three;  Charles  C. 
Barry  and  Charles  H.  Adams,  ward  four;  Levi  S.  Gould  and 
Edwin  S.  Small,  ward  five;  Peter  J.  Lynch,  ward  six;  William 
E.  C.  Goudey,  ward  seven. 

The  first  meeting  of  this  Committee  took  place  June  16, 
1902,  when  it  was  organized  as  follows:  His  Honor  John 
Larrabee,  Mayor,  Chairman;   Elbridge  H.  Goss,  Secretary. 

The  Mayor  has  full  power  given  him  by  vote  of  the  Board 
of  Aldermen,  to  make  a  contract  and  build  the  new  Library 
Building;  but  he  preferred  to  call  in  the  aid  of  an  Advisory 
Committee,  as  above,  in  the  selection  of  a  design  for  the 
same.  With  such  advice  and  experience  as  this  Committee 
may  be  enabled  to  give  him,  a  new  Public  Library  Building 
is  to  be  erected  on  the  lot  situated  on  the  corner  of  West 
Emerson  Street  and  Lake  Avenue,  from  the  ;^25,ooo  gift  of  the 
Hon.  Andrew  Carnegie. 


CHAPTER  XX. 

LITERARY  CLUBS  AND  MUSICAL  ASSOCIATIONS. 

MELROSE  has  a  number  of  literary  clubs.  The  oldest 
one  is  the  Franklin  Fraternity,  which  was  organized 
F"ebruary  20,  1863,  by  the  following  five  members  of  the 
Melrose  High  School ;  Henry  R.  Pearson,  Charles  G.  Brooks, 
William  C.  Poland,  Charles  H.  Poland  and  C.  Edgar  Buffum. 
The  object  was  "for  the  purpose  of  inaugurating  among  the 
youth  of  Melrose,  a  Lyceum,  or  Society  for  mental  improve- 
ment, especially  in  the  branches  of  recitation  and  composition." 
To  these  graduates  others  were  added  soon  after,  and  the 
years  immediately  following,  until  their  members  numbered 
twenty-five  or  thirty  ;  there  being  twenty-eight  members  at 
the  present  time.  The  Club  held  monthly  meetings  until  1875, 
when  semi-annual  meetings — the  "Fish  Fry,"  and  "Anni- 
versary Supper" — were  substituted.  At  the  present  time  it 
holds  only  annual  meetings  ;  at  which  time  there  is  delivered 
an  oration  and  a  poem  ;  together  with  a  banquet  with  toast- 
master  and  speeches.  For  a  number  of  years  an  annual  paper, 
called  the  "  Bull  Frog  "  was  read,  consisting  of  essays,  papers, 
poems  and  quips  contributed  by  its  members.  Sons  of  the 
members  are  now  admitted  to  membership. 

Just  before  the  Public  Library  was  founded  in  1870,  the 
"  Fraternity  "  was  considering  the  project  of  forming  a  library 
with  the  purpose  of  eventually  giving  the  same  to  the  Town; 
but  when  that  library  was  established  the  society  immediately 
turned  over  to  it  the  $200  already  raised,  and  with  that  amount 
the  first  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  volumes  of  standard 
works  were  purchased. 

Again  in  1883,  this  Association  showed  its  ever  watchful 
interest  in  the  welfare  and  prosperity  of  the  youth  of  Melrose, 
by  inaugurating  a  system  of  annual  prizes  for  the  scholars  of 
the  High  School,  for  proficiency  in  English  Literature  and 
Mathematics,  consisting  of  works  of  standard  value;  and  each 


356  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

year  these  half  dozen  prizes  are  given  at  the  graduating  exer- 
cises. These  well  earned  honors  are  highly  prized  by  the 
recipients,  and  the  presentation  has  proved  to  be  a  very  inter- 
esting and  beneficial  feature  of  each  recurring  year. 

In  a  sketch  of  the  Fraternity  written  in  1889,  by  Sidney  H. 
Buttrick,  and  published  in  the  Melrose  Journal,  he  says: 

The  pleasure,  instruction  and  moral  strength,  which  the  members  of 
the  Fraternity  have  received  from  this  association,  cannot  be  measured 
by  mere  words.  To  many  of  us,  the  influence  of  the  Fraternity  has 
surrounded  our  lives  and  actions  for  nearly  a  quarter  of  a  century,  and 
our  aim  at  present — as  we  have  arrived  safely  to  years  of  maturity, 
feeling  how  much  we  owe  to  the  spirit  of  the  Fraternity,  which  our 
motto,  Una  Operamus,  "We  labor  together,"  exemplifies — is  to  en- 
courage the  generations  following  us  to  emulate  our  example  and 
continue  the  good  work,  so  ably  and  conscientiously  commenced 
twenty-five  years  ago. 

At  each  annual  meeting  the  Fraternity  chooses  officers  for 
the  year  ensuing  as  follows:  President,  Vice  President,  Secre- 
tary, Treasurer,  Orator,  Alternate,  Poet  and  Odist. 

The  Melrose  Shakespeare  Club  was  organized  in  January, 
1873.  Its  members  are  women,  twenty-five  in  number.  It 
meets  monthly  for  the  study  of  not  only  Shakespeare  and 
other  British  poets,  but  American  poets  also.  Its  officers  are 
a  President,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

Melrose  Woman's  Club.  This  organization  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  members,  was  founded  April  19,  1882,  federated  May, 
1890,  and  admitted  to  the  Massachusetts  State  Federation  of 
Women's  Clubs  in  1895.  Article  II,  of  its  Constitution  and 
By-Laws  states:  "The  object  of  this  club  is  the  moral,  intel- 
lectual, physical  and  social  development  of  women." 

From  October  to  May  every  season,  the  Club  holds  two 
meetings  each  month  with  entertainments  arranged  by  the 
various  committees:  Art  and  Literature,  Ethics  and  Economics, 
Science  and  Education,  and  History  and  Current  Topics. 
There  is  a  Business  Committee,  Committee  on  Music,  Social 
Committee,  P'inance  Committee  and  Press  Correspondent.  It 
chooses  annually  a  President,  two  Vice  Presidents,  Recording 
Secretary,  Corresponding  Secretary,  Treasurer  and  six  Direc- 
tors. 

The  Melrose  Highlands  Woman's  Club.  This  Club  was 
organized  October  12,  1898.     Its  object,  as  stated  in  its  consti- 


LITERARY  CLUBS  AND  MUSICAL  ASSOCIATIONS.     357 

tution,  is  "to  promote  ethical,  social  and  intellectual  culture." 
At  its  organization  it  had  176  charter  members.  It  now  has 
225  members,  its  limited  number,  and  has  four  persons  on  the 
waiting  list.  The  Club  meets  on  the  second  and  fourth  Wed- 
nesdays of  each  month  from  October  to  April  inclusive.  At 
its  meetings  various  papers,  discussions,  and  entertainments, 
literary  and  musical,  are  enjoyed,  as  introduced  under  the 
direction  of  the  committees  of  the  four  departments :  Art 
and  Literature,  History  and  Travel,  Education  and  Domestic 
Science,  and  Current  Events.  There  are  also,  Membership, 
Music,  Social,  and  Finance  committees.  Its  officers,  chosen 
annually,  are  as  follows:  President,  two  Vice  Presidents, 
Recording  Secretary,  Corresponding  Secretary,  Treasurer, 
Auditor,  Press  Correspondent,  and  six  Directors.  These  offi- 
cers, together  with  the  chairman  of  each  of  the  four  depart- 
ments, constitute  the  Executive  Board. 

The  meeting  held  March  8,  1899,  was  devoted  to  the 
reading  of  the  Club  Magazine,  Le  Fin  de  Siecle,  consisting 
of  original  articles  written  by  members.  These  were  after- 
wards published  by  the  Club  as  a  magazine  of  sixteen  pages, 
with  Mrs.  Alice  I.  Calkins  and  Miss  Edith  S.  Genu  as  editors. 

The  Melrose  Education  Society,  an  organization  com- 
posed mainly  of  teachers  in  our  schools,  although  others 
interested  in  educational  work  can  join,  was  formed  in  1896. 
It  was 

established  to  promote  a  broader  knowledge  of  the  science  of  educa- 
tion, a  better  understanding  of  methods  now  employed,  and  a  close 
sympathy  and  cooperation  between  the  home  and  the  school. 

Under  its  auspices  many  scientific  and  educational  lectures 
have  been  given;  not  only  by  our  own  teachers,  but  by 
eminent  educators  from  abroad.  It  is  officered  by  a  Presi- 
dent, Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

A  number  of  other  literary  clubs  have  existed  in  the  past, 
now  disbanded,  which  have  had  a  beneficial  and  educational 
influence  in  the  community.  Earliest  among  these  may 
be  mentioned  the  "  L.  P.  &  F.  Literary  Associates,"  organ- 
ized about  1857,  by  members  of  the  "  Crystal  Lake  Division 
Sons  of  Temperance,"  a  secret  total  abstinence  society  then 
existant  here,  and  the  motto  of  which  was  "  Love,  Purity  and 
F'idelitv. 


358  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Roundabout  Club.  Foremost  among  these  by-gone  clubs 
was  the  Roundabout  Club,  which  was  organized  February  13, 
1873.  This  was  originally  formed  from  members  of  the 
Unitarian  Society;  but  soon  afterwards  enlarged  its  sphere, 
and  became  a  non-sectarian  organization.  Its  aim  as  em- 
bodied in  Art.  II    of  the  Constitution  was  as  follows: 

The  object  of  this  Association  shall  be  the  development  and  culti- 
vation of  the  intellectual  and  aesthetical  powers  of  its  members  by 
such  means  as  the  broad  field  of  literature  affords,  by  music,  art  in 
general  and  social  intercourse.  It  shall  be  the  special  effort  of  the 
members  to  present  original  productions,  or  any  matter  of  interest 
coming  within  their  experience  by  personal  observation  or  otherwise, 
and  to  strive  in  every  way  to  give  character  to  the  club  as  an  educa- 
tional institution. 

The  membership  was  limited  to  one  hundred.  The  last 
meeting  of  the  Club  was  held  April  16,  1891.  During  its 
existence  an  annual  "Budget"  was  issued  in  MSS.,  consist- 
ing of  contributions  by  members  of  the  Club,  each  volume 
being  bound  in  covers  artistically  decorated  with  unique 
designs  by  the  lady  members.  These  volumes  have  been 
deposited  in  the  Melrose  Public  Library.  Some  of  these 
papers  have  been  published  in  the  Melrose  jfotinial. 

On  the  22nd  of  April,  1897,  ^  reunion  of  former  members 
took  place  at  the  Unitarian  Chapel,  on  which  occasion  a 
banquet  was  enjoyed,  with  speeches,  and  an  interesting  his- 
torical reminicial  address  given  by  George  H.  Dearborn. 
The  following  extracts  give  the  names  of  the  Presidents, 
and  indicate  the  scope  of  the  work  of  the  Club  while  in 
existence: 

Its  first  President  was  Rev.  Daniel  M.  Wilson,  who  faithfully  served 
for  three  terms  and  he  was  followed  by  Col.  Samuel  Harrington,  Col. 
Samuel  Adams  Drake,  Messrs.  Royal  P.  Barry,  John  W.  Farwell, 
George  H.  Dearborn,  Elbridge  H.  Goss,  Louis  E.  K.  Robson,  Dexter 
F.  Munroe  and  Alonzo  G.  Whitman.  Our  invitations  tonight  state 
that  this  is  the  240th  meeting  of  the  club  but  special  meetings  and 
gatherings  carry  these  numbers  beyond  250.  That  the  spirit  of 
Article  II  of  the  Constitution  was  fully  carried  out  is  shown  by  the  fact 
that  at  these  meetings  there  have  been  delivered  1 09  lectures,  essays 
or  talks,  as  you  can  term  them,  upon  subjects  I  have  classified  as 
follows:  biographical,  thirty-three  ;  historical,  nineteen;  scientific,  nine- 
teen ;  art,  seven ;  miscellaneous,  thirty-one.  Of  these  essayists  Brother 
Norris  leads  with  a  record  of  eleven.  Colonel  Drake  gave  ten,  Major 


LITERARY  CLUBS  AND  MUSICAL  ASSOCIATIONS.    :i:)9 

Ranlet  six,  Brothers  Feck,  Whitman  and  WilUams  six  each.  Brother 
Dearborn  five,  Brother  Robson,  Rev.  N.  Seaver,  Jr.,  and  Sister  Liver- 
more  four  each,  Brother  Goss  and  Rev.  Mr.  Heywood  three  each,  and 
"there  are  others,"  many  others  who  have  contributed  for  the  benefit 
and  pleasure  of  the  ckib  in  this  direction. 

There  have  also  been  held  fifty-five  dramatic  evenings  and  fifteen 
purely  literary  evenings  although  music  in  some  form  composed  a  part 
of  many  of  our  meetings.  ...  In  these  few  moments  allotted  me  I 
have  time  to  speak  of  but  few  of  the  many  occasions  which  served 
to  bring  many  of  the  club  members  together  and  which  were  so  thor- 
oughly enjoyed.  Prominent  among  these  were  our  nine  Field  Days 
which  were  observed  on  the  holidays  of  June  17,  commencing  with 
that  of  1876,  held  at  Maolis  Gardens,  Nahant,  and  the  final  one  being 
held  in  1885,  at  Manchester-by-the-Sea. 

The  Unity  Club  was  formed  not  long  after  the  Roundabout 
Club  ceased  to  exist,  by  members  of  the  Unitarian  Parish. 
This  is  a  literary,  dramatic  and  musical  organization,  holding 
monthly  meetings  in  its  chapel,  at  which  light  comedy  plays, 
literary  exercises  and  musicales  are  given.  It  is  officered  by  a 
President,  Vice  President,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

The  Centennial  Club,  organized  in  1876,  with  its  sixty  or 
seventy  members,  was  founded  on  a  similar  basis  as  the  Round- 
about Club,  held  its  semi-monthly  meetings,  at  which  papers 
on  various  subjects,  were  read  by  its  members  and  entertain- 
ments given.  After  a  life  of  about  fifteen  years  it  ceased  to 
exist  at  about  the  same  time  as  did  the  Roundabout. 

The  Avon  Club,  organized  at  about  the  same  time  as  the 
Centennial,  was  composed  of  a  younger  class  of  members,  some 
forty  in  number.  Its  meetings  were  partly  literary  and  partly 
for  social  amusements.     It  existed  nine  or  ten  years. 

The  Melrose  Lyceum.  The  Melrose  L\xcum  has  had  an 
intermittant  life.  It  was  first  inaugurated  in  1865,  by  the  late 
Dr.  William  Frederick  Poole  as  chairman  of  the  committee, 
and  was  sustained  for  four  or  five  years,  during  which  time 
such  lecturers  as  George  William  Curtis,  Wendell  Phillips,  Dr. 
Josiah  G.  Holland,  and  William  Lloyd  Garrison  were  engaged, 
and  there  were  concerts  by  the  Mendelssohn  Quintette  Club, 
and  readings  by  Prof.  j.  Wesley  Churchill.  Among  others 
that  served  on  the  committee  were  Thomas  W.  Chadbourne, 
George  Emerson,  Andrew  H.  Briggs,  Charles  H.  Isburgh, 
George   N.   Noyes  and   Dexter   Bryant. 


360  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

In  1874,  after  the  new  Town  Hall  had  been  built,  the 
Lyceum  was  again  established,  and  became  a  very  popular 
institution.  It  was  sustained  for  twenty -one  consecutive 
years,  during  which  time  the  following  citizens  served  on 
the  Committee: 

George  F.  Stone,  1874-5;  Chairman  same.  Charles  C.  Barry, 
1874-88;  Secretary,  1874-87.  Elbridge  H.  Goss,  1874-95; 
Treasurer  same.  W.  Irving  Ellis,  1874-79.  J.  Lyman  Ran- 
dall, 1874.  Joseph  R.  Simonds,  1874-76.  William  T.  Jones, 
1874-79.  George  H.  Dearborn,  1874-95.  George  Emerson, 
1874-78;  Chairman  1876-77.  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  1876- 
80.  John  Larrabee,  1876-90.  J.  Augustus  Barrett,  1879-95. 
Samuel  Adams  Drake,  1878;  Chairman  1878.  John  W.  Farwell, 
1876-93;  Chairman  1879-93.  Allen  C.  Goss,  1879-92.  George 
E.  Carr,  1879-83.  Thomas  W.  Ripley,  1880-92.  James  G. 
Bowden,  1883-95;  Secretary  1887-95.  Royal  P.  Barry,  1888- 
94;  Chairman  1894.  Charles  H.  Lang,  Jr.,  1893-95.  William 
W.  Keays,  1893-95.  D.  Webster  Dow,  1893.  Sidney  H. 
Buttrick,  1893.  William  E.  Barrett,  1895;  Chairman  1895. 
Frank  L.  Washburn,  1894-5.  Charles  H.  Adams,  1894-5, 
and  W.   DeHaven  Jones,   1894-5. 

Each  course  consisted  of  ten  or  more  entertainments.  Dur- 
ing this  time  many  of  the  highest  cost  entertainments  were 
given,  among  them  the  Theodore  Thomas  Orchestra,  Remenyi 
Concert  Co.,  Bernhard  Listemann  Concert  Party,  Royal  Hand 
Bell  Ringers,  Germania  Orchestra,  Boston  Symphony  Orches- 
tra, New  York  Philharmonic  Club,  Marie  Decca  Grand  Con- 
cert Co.,  and  Oratorios  by  the  Salem  Oratorio  Society  and 
the  Melrose  Musical  Society.  For  lecturers,  Henry  Ward 
Beecher,  Charles  Bradlaugh,  John  B.  Gough,  Mrs.  Mary  A. 
Livermore,  Wendell  Phillips,  Rev.  Edwin  C.  Bolles,  D.  D., 
Rev.  Edwin  H.  Chapin,  D.  D.,  Gen.  Daniel  E.  Sickles,  John 
L.  Stoddard,  Gen,  Joshua  L.  Chamberlain,  Archibald  Forbes, 
Rev.  T.  DeWitt  Talmage,  D.  D.,  Rev.  Robert  Collyer,  D.  D., 
Go\'.  John  D.  Long,  Miss  Kate  Field,  Gen.  Lew.  Wallace, 
William  H.  H.  Murray,  Max  O'Rell,  Miss  Amelia  B.  Edwards, 
Dr.  George  C.  Lorrimer,  and  many  others.  For  readers. 
Prof.  J.  Wesley  Churchill,  Wyzeman  Marshall,  Miss  Helen 
Potter,  George  Riddle,  Samuel  L.  Clemens,  George  W.  Cable, 
Lcland  T.  Powers,  Will  Carleton,  Mrs.  Frances  Scott  Siddons, 
Prof.  James  E.  Murdock,  Edgar  W.  Nye,  James  Whitcomb 
Riley,  and  others. 


LITERARY  CLUBS  AND  MUSICAL  ASSOCIATIONS.     3G1 

During  these  twenty-one  years  this  institution  has  been  of 
great  benefit  to  the  citizens;  giving,  as  it  has,  at  a  moderate 
cost,  entertainments  of  the  very  highest  order;  thus  afford- 
ing instruction,  amusement  and  pleasure.  It  is  hoped  that  it 
may  be  revived    in  the  near  future. 

After  an  interregnum  of  three  years,  two  courses  of  six 
lectures  each,  for  the  seasons  of  1898-1900  were  given  under 
the  name  of  the  Lyceum,  by  Messrs.  Edward  J.  Kitching 
and   Allen    H.   Sturges. 

MUSICAL    ASSOCIATIONS. 

Soon  after  the  incorporation  of  Melrose,  it  was  found  that 
quite  a  number  of  musical  people  were  living  here;  and  steps 
were  taken  to  form  a  society  for  the  cultivation  of  music.  The 
Melrose  Musical  Association  was  organized.  The  first  number 
of  the  Melrose  Advertiser,  issued  in  January,  1856,  spoke  in  a 
very  complimentary  manner  of  its  progress  and  efficiency. 
Under  the  leadership  of  the  late  Henry  E.  Trowbridge,  with 
Andrew  J.  Morse  as  President,  it  thrived  for  many  years, 
during  which  time  it  gave  many  fine  concerts,  always  to  the 
delight  and  satisfaction  of  the  citizens.  There  were  occasional 
breaks  in  its  existence,  but  when  occasion  offered  it  would  rise 
from  its  ashes  with  renewed  vigor.  Such  was  the  case  when 
the  great  "  Peace  Jubilee  Festival  "  took  place  in  Boston,  under 
the  direction  of  the  late  P.  S.  Gilmore,  in  June,  1869;  also  in 
that  of  a  few  years  later,  1872,  in  the  "  Coliseum,"  when  a  still 
larger  body  of  singers,  said  to  be  twenty  thousand,  was  gath- 
ered. After  an  interregnum  of  a  few  years,  the  Association 
was  again  revived  as  the  "  Melrose  Choral  Society."  As  such 
it  existed  for  several  years,  giving  an  occasional  concert;  its 
leader  for  a  portion  of  the  time  being  S.  B.  Whitney,  the 
organist  of  the  Church  of  the  Advent,  Under  his  direction  it 
gave  three  of  the  entertainments  in  the  "  Melrose  Lyceum," 
for  the  years  1893,  1894  and  1895;  the  first  being  the  oratorio 
-of  "Eli,"  the  second  the  oratorio  of  "  The  Creation,"  and  the 
third  portions  of  the  oratorios  of  "  Stabat  Mater  "  and  "  The 
Redemption." 

For  a  number  of  years  the  Melrose  Orchestra  existed  and 
furnished  delightful  music  on  many  an  occasion. 

The  Amphion  Club  was  organized  in  the  Melrose  Club 
rooms,  October    19,   1892,  with   the    following  list  of  officers: 


362  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

President,  Charles  C.  Barry  ;  Vice  President,  William  A. 
Waterhouse  ;  Treasurer,  Walter  F:  Littlefield  ;  Secretary,  Sid- 
ney Howe;  Librarian,  Frank  D.  Thatcher;  and  Ephraim  Cutter, 
Jr.,  who  was  selected  as  Musical  Director,  with  Grant  Drake  as 
Accompanist.  Its  object  was  for  the  "  practice  and  perform- 
ance of  part  songs  and  choruses  for  male  voices,  and  for  the 
cultivation  of  a  refined  taste  in  that  class  of  music." 

The  membership  was  limited  to  sixty  active  or  singing 
members,  and  two  hundred  associate  or  non-singing  members. 
This  membership  has  been  kept  full  for  these  past  ten  years, 
and  there  are  now  applications  for  additional  members;  eight 
active  and  twenty-seven  associate. 

About  two  years  after  its  organization,  August  lO,  1894,  the 
Club  was  incorporated,  with  Charles  C.  Barry,  Walter  F. 
Littlefield,  William  A.  Waterhouse,  Sidney  Howe,  Frank  D. 
Thatcher,  Laban  Beal,  Jr.,  Warren  H.  Wright,  James  G. 
Bowden,  Thomas  L.  Cushman  and  Elvin  W.  Harding  as 
corporators. 

Under  the  continued  leadership  of  Mr.  Cutter,  with  Mr.  Grant 
Drake — many  years  teacher  of  music  in  our  public  schools-- 
as  accompanist,  this  Club  has  attained  a  very  high  standard 
of  excellence  and  ef^ciency,  and  its  series  of  three  concerts 
given  each  season  in  City  Hall,  affords  great  enjoyment  and 
satisfaction  to  its  patrons.  For  each  concert  each  associate 
member  receives  four  tickets;  and  the  hall  is  filled  to  reple- 
tion at  every  performance,  with  a  delighted  audience. 

In  addition  to  the  regular  concerts  in  Melrose,  the  Club  gave 
a  series  of  concerts  for  two  years  in  Woburn,  a  concert  in  1894 
to  the  unemployed  poor  in  our  cit}',  and  an  "  End  of  the 
Century  Service"  at  the  Orthodox  Congregational  Church, 
Melrose,  on  December  31,  1900. 

It  has  also  given  concerts  before  the  Boston  Art  Club,  the 
Home  Market  Club  at  Mechanics  Hall,  Boston,  in  1897,^ 
the  Bankers'  Association  of  Boston,  in  1900  and  1901,  and  the 
National  Association  of  Manufacturers  in  1900;  and  on  Febru- 
ary 16,  1899,  this  Club  received  the  great  compliment  of  being 
invited  to  sing  at  the  magnificent  banquet  given  by  the  Home 
Market  Club,  to  President  McKinley,  and  members  of  his 
Cabinet,  at  Mechanics  Hall,  Huntington  Avenue,  Boston. 
The  six  selections  for  the  occasion  were  rendered  in  such  an 
artistic  and  pleasing  manner,  as  to  call  forth  unbounded  praise 


LITERARY  CLUBS  AND  MUSICAL  ASSOCIATIONS.    863 

from  the  fi\c  thousand  people  present.  So  greatly  was  the 
President  pleased  that  he  sent  President  Shiimway  the  follow- 
ing autograph  letter: 

Executive  Mansion, 
Washington,  February  20,  1899. 
My  Dear  Sir: —  ...  I  have  much  pleasure  in  stating  that  the 
excellent  music  on  the  occasion  of  the  Home  Market  Club  Banquet 
added  a  great  deal  to  the  enjoyment  of  that  memorable  evening. 
Very  truly  yours. 


^^;;^Ac£^-c^««-*-^  7x.^J/toc. 


To  Mr.  Franklin  P.  Shumwav, 

President  Amphion  Club. 


Well  may  the  "Amphions"  be  pleased  with  this  well 
merited  praise.  It  is,  and  has  been,  an  incentive  to  attain  still 
greater  efficiency. 

In  1898,  Mr.  Barry  declined  a  reelection  as  President,  and 
Franklin  P.  Shumway  was  elected  in  his  place.  The  present 
officers  are:  President,  Franklin  P.  Shumway;  Vice  President, 
David  B.  Pitman;  Secretary,  Jabez  S.  Dyer;  Treasurer,  James 
G.  Bowden;  Librarian,  Walter  C.  Martin;  Assistant  Librarian, 
Ernest  L.  Carr.  These  form  the  Board  of  Directors;  and  there 
is  a  Voice  and  Music  Committee  consisting  of  five  members 
each. 

During  the  club's  existence,  it  has  given  thirty  concerts  for 
which  over  three  hundred  and  thirty  rehearsals  were  held 
under  the  earnest  and  efficient  conductorship  of  Mr.  Cutter. 

The  following  "  Dedication,"  written  by  Rev.  M.  J.  Savage, 
was  printed  in  the  Club's  first  programme,  February  2,  1893: 

.Vniphion's  lyre,  great  Mercury's  gift, 

Such  wondrous  power  knew 
That,  to  the  music  of  its  strings, 

The  Theban  walls  upgrew. 

.\n(l  since  that  day,  at  music's  touch 

All  lower  things  uprise, 
Till  what  is  earthly  in  us  seeks 

Communion  with  the  skies. 


LITERARY  CLUBS  AND  MUSICAL  ASSOCIATIONS.    365 

A  number  of  other  musical  associations,  vocal  and  instru- 
mental, have  had  a  longer  or  shorter  life  during  our  incorpo- 
rated existence;  and  there  are  now  several  well  organized,  and 
doing  good  musical  work. 

The  Methodist  Choral  Union  consists  of  twenty-five  members 
under  the  leadership  of  organist  Charles  E.  Wilson.  It  is 
officered  with  a  President,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

The  Chaminade  Choral  Society,  composed  wholly  of  ladies, 
was  organized  January  1 1,  1900;  it  has  a  membership  of  twenty- 
four,  and  is  under  the  leadership  of  Mrs.  Josie  B.  Tyler.  Its 
first  public  performance  took  place  April  23,  1901.  It  has  a 
Secretary,  Treasurer  and  Music  Committee. 

The  Melrose  City  Band  was  organized  September  20,  igoo, 
A,  A.  Quimby,  leader.     It  has  nineteen  members. 

The  Melrose  Cadet  Band  was  organized  in  March,  1901,  with 
George  H.  Glover  as  conductor.  It  has  twenty-one  members. 
Both  bands  have  given  public  performances  and  led  in  parades 
in  a  very  satisfactory  manner. 

Of  orchestras  we  have  several:  that  of  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association,  S.  Woodbridge  Moorhouse,  leader,  with 
fifteen  members;  Dow's  Orchestra,  organized  in  i8g8,  Richard 
E.  Dow,  leader  and  manager,  has  ten  members;  Tripp's 
Orchestra,  Harry  L.  Tripp,  leader,  has  ten  members;  and  the 
Melrose  Orchestral  Association,  Elmer  D.  Sherburne,  leader, 
with  ten  members. 

Melrose  has  been  the  home  of  at  least  two  people  of  more 
than  ordinary  musical  talent;  one  vocal  the  other  instrumental. 
Miss  Geraldine  Farrar  —  whose  father,  Sidney  D.  Farrar,  was 
a  resident  and  business  man  in  Melrose  for  many  years,  and 
one  of  its  Selectmen  for  the  years  1896,  '97  and  '98  —  was  born 
here  February  28,  1883.  Many  of  our  citizens  remember  her 
singing  in  church  and  home  when  a  mere  child.  At  twelve 
years  of  age  she  began  her  vocal  studies  under  Mrs.  J.  H, 
Long.  She  rapidly  developed  a  voice  of  wonderful  power  and 
sweetness.  After  graduating  from  our  schools,  for  a  while  she 
engaged  in  concert  work  in  New  York  and  Washington.  On 
the  day  that  the  news  of  Admiral  Dewey's  victory  came  to 
America,  she  sang  "The  Star  Spangled  Banner"  to  President 
William  McKinley  and  his  wife. 

In  September,  1899,  with  her  parents,  she  went  to  Paris, 
where,  for  a  while,  she  studied  under  Angelo  de  Trabadello. 
From  Paris  to  Berlin,  where,  under  the  tutorship  of  George 


366  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Graziani,  she  made  her  debut  at  the  Royal  Opera,  October  15, 
1901,  as  "  Marguerite,"  in  Gounod's  "  Faust;"  and  she  has 
become  one  of  the  most  charming  and  successful  of  opera 
singers.  Such  was  her  success  at  the  Royal  Opera  that  she 
has  been  given  a  three  years'  engagement,  with  six  months  of 
each  at  her  own  disposal;  and  she  has  been  allowed  the 
unusual  privilege  of  singing  in  Italian  instead  of  German. 
Her  present  repertoire  includes  "  Faust,"  "  Traviata,"  "  Romeo 
and  Juliette,"  "  Pagliacci,"  and  "  Lohengrin." 

Februar}^  12th,  1902,  a  special  message  came  from  the  Emperor  to 
sing  at  the  Castle,  which  she  did  with  grand  success.  She  received 
another  invitation  to  sing  for  their  Majesties  on  February  28th. 
Berlin  is  the  most  difficult  city  in  Europe  in  which  to  debut,  the  critics 
being  very  severe  but  just.  Geraldine  was  the  first  American  to 
receive  an  engagement  at  the  Royal  Opera.^ 

Another  musician  was  Walter  Emerson,  the  famous  cornetist. 
Although  not  born  here,  he  early  came  to  Melrose,  and  passed 
most  of  his  days  as  a  resident.  He  commenced  his  career 
by  blowing  the  bugle  calls  for  the  Battery  then  stationed  in 
Melrose.  From  that  time  he  rapidly  developed  into  one  of 
the  most  famous  cornetists  the  world  has  had.  After  traveling 
as  soloist  with  a  number  of  different  companies  he  organized 
the  Emerson  Concert  Company,  which  gave  entertainments 
throughout  the  United  States,  in  Canada  and  Europe.  In  1878, 
he  went  to  Europe  with  Gilmore's  Band,  of  world-wide  fame, 
as  the  Cornet  Soloist,  during  which  time  he  played  the  solos 
for  one  hundred  and  fifty-one  concerts. 

Concerning  his  skill  and  success  during  this  season  abroad, 
Mr.  Gilmore  said,  in  writing  to  his  father,  George  Emerson, 
under  date  of  May  13,  1879: 

It  was  always  a  pleasure  to  me  to  see  him  take  the  solo  stand, 
knowing  that  there  lived  no  other  young  American  who  could  do  more 
honor  to  the  country  so  far  as  national  renown  could  be  advanced  by 
cornet  playing.  The  rapidity  of  his  tonguing,  and  the  great  facility 
of  his  execution,  surprised  some  of  the  slow  coaches  of  the  old  world, 
and  they  really  began  to  believe  that  America  was  a  dashing,  go 
ahead,  fast  country. 

His  performances  were  a  brilliant  ornament  in  our  concerts,  and  in 
several  respects  he  was  considered  the  most  remarkable  performer 
ever  heard  abroad. 

Mr.  Emerson  died  June  i,  1893. 

^  Letter  from  her  father,  dated  Berlin,  February  18,  1902. 


CHAPTER  XXI. 

BIBLIOGRAPHY. 

MANY  literary  men  and  women  have  made  Melrose  their 
home.     Their  works  have  been  of  many  kinds  —  his- 
torical, biographical,   theological,   political,  scientific, 
electrical,   educational,    medicinal,   musical    and    fiction.      All 
cannot  be  enumerated;    only  the  most  important,  giving  the 
authors'  names  in  alphabetical  order. 

Rev.  John  Greenleaf  Adams,  D.  D.,  was  a  Universalist 
minister.  Born  in  Portsmouth,  New  Hampshire,  July  30,  1810; 
died  at  Melrose  Highlands,  May  4,  1887.  He  was  a  prolific 
writer.  Among  his  most  important  works  are  Memoir  of 
Thomas  Whittemore,  Universalism  of  the  Lord's  Prayer,  Talks 
Abotit  the  Bible,  Fifty  Notable  Years,  and  The  Inner  Life.  During 
his  life  he  was  editor  of  various  Sabbath  School  papers  of  the 
Universalist  denomination.  For  many  years  he  was  closely 
identified  with  the  history  of  Maiden.  Deloraine  P.  Corey,  in 
his  sketch  of  Maiden  for  Drake's  History  of  Middlesex  County, 
published  in  1880,  thus  speaks  of  Dr.  Adams,  who  was  settled 
over  the  Universalist  Church  of  Maiden  many  years,  in  con- 
nection with  Rev.  Alexander  W.  McClure,  who  was  settled 
over  the  Congregational  Church  at  the  same  time: 

But  I  may  linger  a  moment  over  the  names  of  two  clergymen  whose 
memories  are  cherished  and  honored  in  the  churches  and  town  which 
they  loved.  The  Rev.  Alexander  W.  McClure,  the  caustic  wit  of  the 
Trinitarian  Society,  and  the  Rev.  John  G.  Adams  of  the  First  Parish, 
revived  in  the  nineteenth  century,  for  a  while,  the  pastorates  of  the 
olden  time.  Both  heartily  earnest  in  their  work,  they  became  as  one 
with  the  people  of  their  charges,  and  were,  to  the  rich  and  poor  alike, 
faithful  pastors  and  sympathetic  friends.  Nor  were  they  less  earnest 
in  their  duties  as  neighbors  and  townsmen  in  the  daily  and  secular 
affairs  of  life.  Antagonistic  as  they  were  in  their  religious  beliefs, 
with  the  memories  of  the  recent  conflicts  of  their  societies  still  alive, 
they  stood  stoutly  shoulder  to  shoulder  and  hand  in  hand  in  the  many 


368  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

reforms  which  they  instituted  or  promoted,  and  cemented  a  friendship 
which  time  did  not  destroy,  which  is  still  green  in  the  hearts  of  the 
survivor,  and  which  may  make  more  joyous  the  meeting  on  the  shores 
of  life.  In  the  temperance  cause,  in  charitable  work,  and  in  educa- 
tional matters  they  urged  reforms  and  introduced  new  methods  by 
which  the  interests  of  the  people  were  advanced  and  their  prosperity 
promoted. 

George  Lowell  Austin,  M.  D.,  was  born  in  Lawrence, 
September  ii,  1849  3"^  died  in  Melrose,  June  5,  1893.  He 
wrote  a  Life  of  Franz  Schubert,  1872;  The  History  of  MassacJiu- 
setts,  from  the  Landing  of  the  Pilgrims  to  the  Present  Time,  1876; 
The  Indispensible  Handbook  of  Useful  and  Practical  Information, 
1878;  Water- Analysis,  A  Handbook  for  Water-Drinkers,  1882; 
Henry  Wadsivorth  Longfellow ;  His  IJfe,  His  Works,  His  Friend- 
ships, 1883;  atid  The  Life  and  Times  of  Wendell  Phillips,  1884. 

Joseph  Edward  Babson  was  born  in  Newburyport,  in  1831, 
and  died  in  Melrose  Highlands,  May  19,  1875.  He  was  a 
frequent  contributor  to  the  Boston  newspapers,  under  the 
pseudonym  of  "Tom  Folio."  He  was  an  ardent  student,  and 
particularly  fond  of  the  English  prose  writers.  He  edited  an 
edition  of  Charles  Lamb's  works,  and  gathered  from  various 
English  magazines  the  scattered  contributions  of  Leigh  Hunt, 
Douglas  Jerrold  and  Charles  Lamb,  as  follows:  Eliana,  Bei?ig 
the  Hitherto  Uncollected  Writings  of  Charles  Lamb,  1869;  A  Day  by 
the  Fire,  and  other  Papers,  Hitherto  Uncollected,  by  Leigh  Hunt, 
1869;  The  Wishing- Cap  Papers  by  Leigh  Hunt,  Nozv  First  Collected, 
1872;  Fireside  Saints,  Mr.  Caudle's  Breakfast  Talk,  and  Other 
Papers,  by  Douglas  Jerrold,  1873.  Mr.  Babson  left  a  very  fine 
library,  now  the  property  of  Mrs.  Caroline  W.  Clinkard,  to 
whom  he  bequeathed  it;  and  it  is  now  in  her  home  on  Park 
Street,  Melrose. 

Captain  George  Pickering  Burnham  was  born  in  Boston, 
April  24,  1814,  and  died  in  Melrose,  April  17,  1902.  He  came 
to  Melrose  in  1850,  the  year  in  which  it  was  incorporated.  His 
literary  career  covers  a  period  of  over  fifty  years.  In  journal- 
ism he  has  been  reporter,  sub-editor,  editor,  and  the  writer  of 
many  sketches  and  stories.  He  has  given  much  attention  to 
a  specialty  in  fowls  and  birds,  and  has  written  a  dozen  books 
connected  with  that  subject,  including  his  humorous  treatment 
of  The  History  of  the  Hen  Fever,  published  in  1855,  and  which 
had  a  very  extensive  sale.     In  this  same  year  he  also  wrote  an 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  369 

anti-slavery  story,  entitled  The  Rag-Picker ;  or.  Bound  and  Free. 
His  other  writinr;;-.s  include  Metnoirs  of  tJie  United  States  Secret 
Service,  Aniencan  Coioiterfeits,  and  A  Hundred  Thousa?id  Dollars 
i?i  Gold. 

Rev.  Daniel  Dorchestkk,  D.  D.,  was  born  in  Diixbur) , 
Massachusetts,  March  ii,  1827.  He  was  appointed  by  Presi- 
dent William  Harrison,  Superintendent  of  Indian  Schools  of 
the  United  States,  May  i,  1889.  He  served  nearly  five  years. 
His  published  works  are  Concessions  of  Liberalists  to  Orthodoxy, 
1878;  Giving  and  Worship,  1882;  Problem  of  Religious  Progress, 
1882;  The  Liquor  Problem  in  All  Ages,  1884;  Christianity  in  the 
United  States,  1888;  Latest  Drink  Sophistries  vs.  Total  Abstinence, 
1885;  The  Luiictment  of  the  Liquor  Traffic,  1885;  ^-^^^  ^^''A^  (>f 
Methodism,  1 887 ;  Romanism  vs.  the  Public  School  System,  1 888  a?id 
Christianity  Vifidicated  by  its  Enemies,  1896.  He  has  e\'er  been 
conspicuous  in  all  temperance  measures,  and  an  authority  in 
statistical  studies  pertaining  to  the  ecclesiastical  and  reform- 
atory departments  of  inquiry. 

Colonel  Samuel  Adams  Drake  has  written  many  works 
of  an  historical  character.  He  was  born  in  Boston,  December 
20,  1833.  At  the  breaking  out  of  the  Great  Rebellion  he 
was  a  resident  of  Kansas,  and  was  appointed  colonel  of  the 
Seventeenth  Regiment  of  Kansas  Volunteer  Infantry,  serving 
throughout  the  war.  His  first  book  was  Old  Land-marks  and 
Historic  Personages  of  Boston,  issued  in  1873.  This  was  followed 
by  His  tone  Fields  and  Mansions  of  Middlesex,  Nooks  a?id  Corners 
of  the  New  Efigland  Coast,  Bunker  Hill,  General  Israel  Putnam, 
the  Commander  at  Bunker  Hill,  History  of  Middlesex  Cotinty,  The 
Heart  of  the  White  Mountains,  Around  the  Hub,  New  England 
Legends  and  Folk  Lore,  Our  Great  Benefactors,  The  Old  Boston 
Taverns  and  Tavern  Clubs,  The  Making  of  Nezv  England,  7  he 
Making  of  the  Great  West,  Burgoynes  Invasion  of  1777,  The 
Taking  of  Louisburg,  The  Battle  of  Gettysburg,  Campaign  of  Treti- 
ton.  Watch  Fires  of  '76,  and  On  Plymouth  Rock.  He  has  writ- 
ten one  historical  novel,  entitled,  Captain  Nelson:  a  Romance 
of  Colonial  Days,  and  has  contributed  to  Our  Young  Folks, 
Our  Boys  and  Girls,  and  Harper's  Magazine ;  a.\so  the  articles 
"  Florida,"  *'  Georgia,"  and  "  Sebastian  Cabot,"  for  the  Cyclo- 
paedia Britannic  a. 

Rev.   Richard  Eddy,  D.  D.,  was  born  in    Providence,  K.  I., 


370 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


June  21,  1828.  For  several  years  he  was  a  pastor  of  the 
Universalist  Church.  Many  of  his  sermons  have  been  printed. 
His  larger  works  are:  History  of  the  Sixtieth  Regiment,  New  York 
State  Volunteers,  of  which  he  was  chaplain;  Universalism  in 
America,  Alcohol  in  History,  and  Alcohol  in  Society.  He  has  been 
editor  of  different  newspapers,  among  them  the  Universalist 
Quarterly  and  General  Review. 

Hon.    Daniel    Wheelwright   Gooch  was    born    in    Wells, 
Maine,  January  8,  1820.     Graduated  at  Dartmouth  College  in 


1843,  ^"cl  admitted  to  the  Suffolk  Bar  in  1846.  Came  to 
Melrose  (then  North  Malden)[in  1848,  where  he  died  Novem- 
ber I,  1891.  He  was  elected  a  representative  to  the  General 
Court  in  1852,  and  a  member  of  the  Constitutional  Convention 
m  1853.  He  was  an  adherent  of  the  Free-Soil  party  until  the 
formation  of  the  Republican  party,  with  which  he  has  ever 
since  acted.  He  has  several  times  been  elected  a  Representa- 
tive to  Congress;  was  a  member  of  the  Thirty-fifth,  Thirtv- 
sixth,   Thirty-seventh    and    Thirt)'-eighth    Congresses,   in    the 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  371 

latter  serving  as  a  member  of  the  Congressional  Committee  on 
the  Conduct  of  the  War,  and  was  chairman  on  the  part  of  the 
House;  its  four  years  of. investigations  were  printed  in  several 
volumes.  Having  been  elected  to  the  Thirty-ninth  Congress, 
he  resigned,  September  i,  1865,  to  accept  from  President 
Johnson  the  appointment  of  naval  officer  for  the  port  of 
Boston,  which  position  he  held  for  a  year.  In  1868  he  was 
elected  a  delegate  to  the  Chicago  Convention.  In  the  Forty- 
third  Congress  he  again  served  as  Representative  for  the  Fifth 
Massachusetts  District.  From  1875  to  1886  he  was  Pension 
Agent  at  Boston,  after  which  he  resumed  the  practice  of  the 
law.  A  number  of  his  legal  arguments  have  been  printed, 
notably  those  in  the  Hoosac  Tunnel,  Troy  &  Greenfield  Railroad, 
and  Joseph  M.  Day,  Judge  of  Probate,  cases.  Many  of  his 
Congressional  speeches  were  printed  in  pamphlet  form;  among 
them  were  The  Lecompton  Constitution  and  the  Admission  of  Kansas 
into  the  Union,  Polygamy  in  Utah,  The  Supreme  Court  and  Dred 
Scott,  Orga7iization  of  the  Territories,  Any  Compromise  a  Surrender, 
Recognition  of  Hayti  and  Liberia,  and  Secession  and  Reconstruction. 

Rev.  John  Healy  Heywood  was  born  in  Worcester,  March 
30,  1818.  Graduated  from  Harvard  College  in  1836,  and  from 
the  Divinity  School  in  1840.  He  was  first  settled  in  Louisville, 
Ky.,  in  1840,  when  he  succeeded  the  late  Rev.  James  Freeman 
Clarke,  D.  D.  After  a  pastorate  of  forty  years  he  resigned. 
He  was  settled  over  the  Unitarian  Church  of  Melrose,  in  1884, 
having  occupied,  since  leaving  Louisville,  the  pulpit  at  Ply- 
mouth, Mass.,  for  one  year,  that  of  Dr.  Putnam  in  Brooklyn,  for 
six  months  and  that  of  the  Independent  Congregational  Church, 
in  Baltimore,  Md.,  for  three  months.  His  printed  volumes 
are  as  follows:  Unitarian  Views  Vindicated,  1854;  The  Causes 
and  C2ire  of  Intemperance,  1874;  The  Unitarian  Banner,  1878; 
Our  Indian  Mission  atid  our  First  Missionary,  Rev.  Charles  H.  A. 
Dall;  and  William  Green  leaf  Eliot,  1887. 

Frederick  Kidder  was  born  in  New  Ipswich,  N.  H., 
April  16,  1804,  and  died  in  Melrose,  December  19,  1885,  in  his 
eighty-second  year.  Went  to  Boston  in  1822,  and  with  his 
brother  was  several  years  in  business  in  Wilmington,  N.  C. 

In  1845,  Messrs.  Benjamin  V.  and  Charles  Copeland,  together 
with  Mr.  Kidder,  bought  of  the  Barings,  of  London,  a  tract  of 
land  on  the  Schoodic  Lakes,  in  Plastern  Maine,  containing  over 


372  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

a  hundred  thousand  acres,  being  more  than  thirty  miles  in 
extent,  This  proved  to  be  a  very  profitable  investment,  and 
would  have  been  much  more  so  had  they  continued  to  hold  the 
land  for  a  while  longer  than  they  did.  He  was  one  of  the 
trustees  of  the  Public  Library  from  1870  to  1882,  most  of 
the  time  chairman. 

His  first  literary  work  was  a  history  of  his  native  town,  New 
Ipswich,  N.  H.,  which  was  issued  in  1852.  In  that  early  day 
of  town  histories,  this  was  one  of  the  most  complete  and 
thorough  works  that  had  appeared.  His  other  volumes  are: 
The  Expedition  of  Captain  Lovezvell,  and  his  Encounters  with  the 
Indians,  Military  Operations  in  Eastern  Maine  and  Nova  Scotia 
during  the  Revolution,  History  of  the  First  Nezv  Hampshire  Regi- 
ment in  the  War  of  the  Revolution,  and  History  of  th(i  Boston  Massa- 
cre, March  §,  1770.  His  magazine  articles  reprinted  in  pamph- 
let were:  The  Adventures  of  Captain  Lovewell,  The  Abenaki 
Indians.,  The  Szvedes  on  the  Delaivare,  and  The  Discovery  of  North 
America  by  John  Cabot:  A  First  Chapter  in  the  History  of  North 
America. 

Robert  Fowler  Leighton,  born  in  Durham,  Maine,  Janu- 
ary 23,  1838,  was  for  several  years  principal  of  the  High  School 
of  Melrose,  during  which  time  he  wrote  several  educational 
works:  Greek  Lessons,  Latin  Lessons,  and  Harvard  Examination 
Papers.  Since  then  he  has  given  his  attention  to  historical 
works,  and  has  written  a  History  of  Rome,  History  of  Greece, 
Cicero's  Select  Letters,  and  Historia  Critica  M.  T.  Ciceronis  Epistu- 
larum  ad  Familiares ;  this  was  published  in  Latin,  in  Leipsic, 
Germany. 

Mary  Ashton  Livermore  was  born  in  Boston,  December 
19,  1820;  was  a  teacher  in  Charlestown  and  Duxbury,  Mass. 
In  1857  her  husband,  Daniel  P.,  established  the  New  Covena)it, 
a  Universalist  journal,  of  which  she  became  associate  editor  for 
twelve  years,  during  which  time  she  frequently  contributed  to 
periodicals  of  her  denomination  and  edited  the  Lily.  When 
the  Rebellion  broke  out  she  became  connected  with  the  United 
States  Sanitary  Commission,  headquarters  at  Chicago,  per- 
forming a  vast  amount  of  labor  of  all  kinds  —  organizing 
auxiliary  societies,  visiting  hospitals  and  military  posts,  con- 
tributing to  the  press,  answering  correspondence,  and  the 
thousand  and  one  things  incident  to  the  wonderful  work  done 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


373 


by  that  institution.  She  was  one  that  helped  organize  the 
great  fair  in  1863,  at  Chicago,  when  nearly  gioo.ooo  was  raised, 
and  for  which  she  obtained  the  original  draft  of  the  Emancipa- 
tion Proclamation  from  President  Lincoln,  which  was  sold  for 
$3,000.  As  she  says  in  her  extremely  interesting  volume,  My 
Story  of  the  War:  "  Here  were  packed  and  shipped  to  the 
hospitals  or  battle-field  '/y,66o  packages  of  sanitary  supplies, 
whose  cash  value  was  $1,056, [Q2.  16.  Here  were  written  and 
mailed  letters  by  the  ten  thousand,  circulars  by  the  hundred 


f 


thousand,  monthly  bulletins  and  reports.  Here  were  planned 
visits  tp  the  aid  societies,  trips  to  the  army,  methods  of  raising 
money  and  supplies,  systems  of  relief  for  soldiers'  families  and 
white  refugees,  Homes  and  Rests  for  destitute  and  enfeebled 
soldiers,  and  the  details  of  mammoth  sanitary  fairs. 

When  the  war  was  over  she  instituted  a  paper  called  the 
Agitator,  which  was  afterwards  merged  in  the  Woman's  journal. 
Of  this  she  was  editor,  for  two  years  and  has  been  a  frequent 
contributor  to  it  since.     On  the  lecture  platform  she  has  had  a 


374  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

remarkable  career,  speaking  largely  in  behalf  of  the  woman 
suffrage  and  the  temperance  movements.  A  few  years  ago 
she  was  "one  of  the  four  lecturers  that  were  most  in  demand 
and  that  commanded  the  largest  fees,  the  other  three  being 
men."  Many  years  she  has  traveled  25,000  miles  annually, 
speaking  five  nights  each  week  for  five  months  of  the  year. 

Her  printed  volumes  are:  Thirty  Years  Too  Late,  first  pub- 
lished in  1847  ss  a  prize  temperance  tale,  and  republished  in 
1878;  Pe)i  Pictures,  or.  Sketches  from  Domestic  Life ;  What  Shalt 
We  Do  zvith  Our  Daughters?  Superfluous  Women  and  Other 
Lectures ;  and  My  Story  of  the  War.  A  Woman  s  Narrative  of 
Four  Years'  Personal  Experience  as  Nurse  in  the  Union  Army,  a7id 
in  Relief  Work  at  Home,  in  Hospitals,  Camps  and  at  the  Front 
during  the  War  of  the  Rebellion.  Of  this  work  one  has  well 
said:  "Should  every  other  book  on  the  war  be  blotted  out  of 
existence,  this  one  would  completely  reflect  the  spirit  and  work 
of  the  Women  of  the  North." 

For  Women  of  the  Z)<2jj' she  wrote  the  sketch  of  the  sculptress. 
Miss  Anne  Whitney;  and  for  the  "  Centennial  Celebration  of 
the  First  Settlement  of  the  Northwestern  States,  at  Marietta, 
Ohio,  July  15,  1788,"  she  delivered  the  historical  address. 

Her  last  work  was  published  in  1897.  ^^^  subject,  character 
and  scope  is  given  on  its  title-page,  which  contains  a  compre- 
hensive biography  of  the  author:  "  The  Story  of  My  Life;  or.  The 
Siinshine  and  Shadoiv  of  Seventy  Years,  by  Mary  A.  Livermore, 
Teacher,  Author,  Wife,  Mother,  Army  Nurse,  Soldiers'  Friend, 
Lecturer,  and  Reformer.  A  Narrative  of  Her  Early  Life 
and  Struggles  for  Education,  Three  Years'  Experience  on  a 
Southern  Plantation  among  White  Masters  and  Black  Slaves, 
Her  Courtship,  Marriage,  Domestic  Life,  etc.,  with  hitherto 
unrecorded  Incidents  and  Recollections  of  Three  Years'  Ex- 
perience as  an  Army  Nurse  in  the  Great  Civil  War,  and  Rem- 
iniscences of  Twenty-five  Years'  Experiences  on  the  Lecture 
Platform,  including  Thrilling,  Pathetic,  and  Humorous  Inci- 
dents of  Platform  Life." 

Rev.  Daniel  Pakker  Livermore,  born  in  Leicester,  Mass.,. 
June  17,  1818,  and  died  in  Melrose,  July  5,  1899.  He  was  a 
Universalist  minister,  and  besides  editing  the  Netv  Covenant  for 
a  dozen  )'ears  and  contributing  to  newspapers  and  magazines, 
has  published  several  pamphlets  of  a  denominational  character,. 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  375 

and  a  half-dozen  on  the  subject  of  "Woman  Suffrage,"  in  favor 
of  which  he  strongly  argued. 

Thomas  D.  Lockwood,  born  in  Plngland,  December  20,  1848, 
IS  an  eminent  electrician,  an  acknowledged  authority  in  all 
matters  pertaining  to  electrical  telephony.  He  is  electrician 
in  charge.of  all  matters  connected  with  patents,  and  the  collec- 
tion and  collation  of  electrical  information  for  the  American 
Bell  Telephone  Company.  Besides  very  many  articles 
contributed  to  the  electrical  press,  he  has  published  three 
volumes:  Electricity,  Magnetism  and  Electric  Telegraphy,  Electrical 
Measurement  and  the  Galvanojucter,  and  Practical  Information  for 
Telephonists. 

To  get  an  idea  of  the  vast  amount  of  literature  that  has  been 
published  on  electricity,  one  should  visit  Mr.  Lockwood's  de- 
partment connected  with  the  Telephone  Co.,  and  see  the 
array  of  works  that  have  been  issued,  in  many  languages,  on 
that  subject;  no  other  such  collection  can  be  found,  and  to 
this  he  has  himself  contributed  not  a  little.  During  the  winter 
of  1885-86,  he  delivered  a  course  of  lectures  before  the  Lowell 
Institute,  Boston,  on  The  Electric  Telegraph  and  Telephone.  His 
essay  entitled  On  the  Electrical  Disturbances  occurring  in  Tele- 
phonic Circuits,  and  the  methods  proposed  for  obviating  or  overcoming 
them,  was  published  by  the  United  States  Government,  in  1886. 
He  is  a  constant  contributor  to  the  electrical  journals  of  the 
countr}-. 

Gilbert  Nash  was  born  in  Weymouth,  Mass.,  April  22, 
1825,  and  died  there  April  13,  1888.  He  lived  many  years  in 
Melrose.  He  wrote  a  history  of  his  native  town,  a  Memoir  of 
General  Solomon  Novell,  and  a  volume  of  poems,  entitled  Bay 
Leaves. 

Charles  J.  Noyes  was  born  in  Haverhill,  Mass.,  Au- 
gust 7,  1841.  Graduated  from  Haverhill  Academy  in  i860,  as 
the  valedictorian  of  his  class.  Graduated  at  Union  College, 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  in  1864.  Delivered  the  Honorary  Chancel- 
lor's Address  for  that  College  in  1888,  receiving  the  degree  of 
LL.D.  Admitted  to  the  bar  in  1864.  Elected  to  the  Massa- 
chusetts Senate  in  1867.  and  to  the  House  of  Representatives 
in  1866,  'T],  '78,  '79,  '80,  '81,  '82,  '87  and  '88,  during  which  time 
he  served  five  years  as  Speaker.  He  has  delivered  a  number 
of  addresses  which  have  been  printed,  his  last  one  being  in  our 


376  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

City  Hall,  at  the  Memorial  Services  of  President  William 
McKinley.  His  only  printed  volume  is  a  Revolutionary  story, 
Patriot  and  Tory.,  published  in  1902.  He  has  another  story 
ready  for  the  press,  entitled  Not  Accordbi  f  Scriptur . 

Thomas  Bellows  Peck,  many  years  resident  of  Melrose, 
Chairman  of  School  Committee  in  1877,  and  Trustee  of  the 
Public  Library  from  1884  to  1887,  now  living  in  Walpole,  N.  H., 
his  native  place,  published  in  1898,  The  Bellows  Genealogy ;  or 
John  Bellows,  the  Boy  Emigrant  of  i6j^,  and  his  Descendants, 
a  volume  of  657  pages. 

William  Frederick  Poole,  LL.  D.,  the  eminent  librarian 
and  bibliophile,  was  born  m  Salem,  Massachusetts,  December 
24,  1821,  and  died  in  Evanston,  Illinois,  March  i,  1894.  He 
graduated  from  Yale  College  in  1849.  While  there  he  became 
the  assistant  librarian,  which  was  the  beginning  of  a  life-long 
profession.  He  was  librarian  of  the  Mercantile  Library  Asso- 
ciation of  Boston  for  four  years;  of  the  Boston  Athaeneum  for 
thirteen  years;  of  the  Cincinnati  Public  Library  for  five  years; 
of  the  Chicago  Public  Library  for  fourteen  years;  and  from 
1887  to  the  day  of  his  death,  of  the  Newberry  Library  of 
Chicago,  founded  by  the  munificence  of  the  millionaire  Walter 
L.  Newberry.  For  many  years  he  lived  in  Melrose,  during 
which  lime  his  pen  was  ever  busy.  During  the  controversy 
between  the  Webster  and  Worcester  Dictionaries,  in  1855-56, 
he  published  three  pamphlets  championing  Webster  as  being 
the  best  authority:  IVebsterian  Orthography,  Dictionaries  in  the 
Boston  Mercantile  Library  and  Boston  Athcenemn,  and  Tlie  Ortho- 
graphical Hobgoblin. 

In  the  discussion  concernmg  the  historical  claims  of  "  The 
Popham  Colony,"  he  wrote  many  articles  in  the  Boston  Daily 
Advertiser  and  the  Bibliography  of  the  PopJiam  Colony.  In  1867 
a  new  edition  of  Edward  Johnson's  Wo7ider- Working  Providejice 
of  Zio7is  Saviour  in  New  England,  was  published,  for  which  he 
wrote  an  introduction  and  numerous  historical  notes.  He  has 
issued  several  pamphlets  connected  with  "  Cotton  Mather  and 
Salem  Witchcraft,"  and  wrote  the  chapter  on  "  Witchcraft  in 
Boston,"  for  the  Memorial  Histoiy  of  Bost07t,\ss\\Qd  in  1880; 
and  for  Justin  Winsor's  Narrative  and  Critical  History  of 
America,  vol.  6.  he  wrote  the  chapter  entitled,  "The  West, 
From  the  Treaty  of  Peace  with  France,  1763,  to  the  Treaty  of 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  377 

Peace  with  England,  1783."  In  1874-75,  in  Chicago,  he  edited 
a  monthly  literary  paper  called  The  Owl,  which  was  succeeded 
by  The  Dial,  to  which  he  was  a  constant  contributor,  chiefly  in 
historical  criticism,  in  which  he  had  few  equals. 

In  this  department  his  work  has  always  been  in  the  nature  of  a  plea 
for  judicial  fairness  and  candor  in  historical  writing,  and  his  pen  has 
constantly  been  on  the  alert  to  discover  and  expose  the  pet  fallacies  of 
the  villifiers  of  the  fathers  of  New  England,  and  of  all  those  with  whom 
the  demands  of  rhetoric  seem  louder  than  those  of  truth. 

His  best  known  work  is  Poole's  Index  to  Periodical  Literature, 
which  was  first  issued  in  1848,  as  Index  to  Snhjeets  Treated  in 
the  Revieivs,  and  other  Periodicals  to  ivhich  no  Indexes  have  been 
Published,  enlarged  as  An  Index  to  Periodical  Literature,  in 
1853,  and  again  enlarged  and  issued  in  1882.  To  this  a  supple- 
ment is  to  be  published  every  five  years.  This  "  is  a  work  of 
the  times,  for  the  times;  the  vast  and  hitherto  pathless  conti- 
nents of  periodical  literature  are  surveyed,  systematized,  and 
made  accessible."  A  half  dozen  supplementary  volumes  have 
now  been  issued. 

He  contributed  during  his  life  many  historical  articles  and 
reviews  to  the  Boston  and  Chicago  papers,  and  delivered 
several  addresses  before  the  literary  clubs  of  Cincinnati  and 
Chicago.  Among  his  latest  publications  are:  The  Early  North- 
west, The  Ordijiancc  of  lySy,  and  The  University  Library  and 
the  University  Curricnlnvi,  the  last  issued  in  1894.  but  a  short 
time  before  his  death. 

Mr.  Poole  has  been  President  of  the  American  Historical 
Association  and  of  the  American  Library  Association.  His 
many  papers  on  library  architecture,  and  on  matters  pertaining 
to  libraries  in  the  Library  yoiinial  ixnd  other  periodicals,  have 
attracted  much  attention,  not  only  in  our  land,  but  in  Europe, 
and  if  collected  would  make  quite  a  volume.  The  Chicago 
Literary  Clui)  issued  an  /;/  Memoriani,  a  pamphlet  of  forty-two 
pages.     It  says: 

He  was  a  great  teacher.  .  .  .  Me  was  widely  admired,  at  home  and 
abroad,  for  his  exceptional  scholarship  and  knowledge.  To  be  known 
as  his  friend,  in  any  of  the  great  libraries  of  Europe,  was  thfe  best  of 
introductions.  If  he  was  a  man  to  be  admired  for  his  attainments, 
still  more  was  he  to  be  loved  for  his  character,  which  was  formed  for 
friendship.  Impatient  of  shallow  and  trifling  natures,  it  was  not  easy 
for  all  to  approach  him  on  familiar  terms ;  but  those  once  admitted  to 
his  friendship,  he  held  in  a  life  long  intimacy. 


378  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Oliver  Ayer  Roberts,  born  in  Haverhill,  Mass.,  March  17, 
1838.  Went  to  Yale  College  one  year,  1858,  then  entered 
Antioch  College,  Ohio.  When  the  War  of  the  Rebellion  broke 
out,  he  returned  to  Massachusetts  and  enlisted  in  the  Fiftieth 
Regiment,  nine  months'  troops,  as  Sergeant  Major.  Then  in 
1864,  re-enlisted  in  the  One  Hundred  and  Tenth  Ohio  Regi- 
ment, serving  in  Virginia,  and  was  discharged  in  June,  1865,  at 
the  end  of  the  war.  He  then  returned  to,  and  graduated  at 
Antioch  College.  He  published  the  Herald  of  Gospel  of 
Liberty,  in  Dayton,  Ohio,  for  two  years.  Then  for  two  years, 
1869-70,  was  principal  of  Le  Grand  Institute,  at  Le  Grand, 
Iowa.  In  1869,  he  was  ordained  as  a  Christian  minister  at 
Winterset,  Iowa.  Settled  over  the  Independent  Church,  New 
Bedford,  in  1871,  continuing  for  seven  years.  During  this  time 
he  served  as  Auditor,  a  member  of  the  School  Committee  and 
Trustee  of  the  Public  Library.  In  1879,  he  was  settled  over 
the  church  at  Salisbury,  Mass.,  where  he  remained  until  No- 
vember, 1887,  removed  to  Melrose,  retiring  from  the  ministry, 
and  devoting  himself  to  literary  work,  coupled  with  duties  as 
an  assistant  in  the  recording  grand  secretary's  office  of  the 
Grand  Lodge  of  Masons  in  Massachusetts. 

Among  his  published  works  are:  TJie  California  Pilgrimage 
of  Boston  Commandery,  Knights  Templars,  1883;  Cross-Bearers — 
Croivn  Winners,  1883;  Sermon  at  Profile  Honse,  before  Boston 
Com,inandety,  1882;  Newbiiryport  Commandery;  2^th  Anniver- 
sary Sermon  of  the  Ancient  and  Honorable  Artillery  Company. 
He  has  delivered  many  Memorial  Day  addresses,  and  written 
the  Roberts  and  the  Brewster  Genealogies. 

His  last  literar}^  work  has  been  the  writing  of  the  Histojy  of 
the  Ancient  a7id  Honorable  Artillery  Company,  from  t6jS  to  1 888, 
authorized  by  the  Company  through  its  Military  and  Library 
Committee.  It  consists  of  four  large  royal  octavo  volumes, 
the  preface  to  vol.  4  being  dated,  "Evacuation  Day,  March 
17,  1901,  Melrose,  Mass."  It  is  the  history  of  the  oldest 
military  company  in  the  country,  and  gives  its  history  and 
biographical  sketches  of  its  thousands  of  members,  many  of 
whom  have  been  among  our  most  prominent  statesmen,  law- 
yers, business  men,  poets,  historians,  clergymen,  and  soldiers 
and  officers  in  army  and  navy.  It  is  a  most  valuable  work  and 
concerning  the  manner  in  which  he  has  accomplished  his  task 
of  fourteen  years  duration,  the  Committee  state  in  its  preface: 


BIBLIOGRAPHY. 


379 


The  Company  must  ever  remain  indebted  to  the  historian,  Mr.  Oliver 
A.  Roberts,  for  the  ability  and  thoroughness  with  which  he  has  per- 
formed his  work.  Full  and  accurate  in  its  details,  concise  and  clear 
in  its  statements,  the  History  will  ever  hold  a  high  place  among  the 
works  of  a  similar  character. 

Hon.  Samuel  Edmund  Sewall  was  born  in  Boston,  Novem- 
ber 9,  1799,  and  died  in  Boston,  December  20,  1888. 


He  graduated  from  Harvard  College  in  1817.  He  came  to 
North  Maiden  in  1846,  when  it  had  but  two  or  three  hundred 
inhabitants.  He  was  elected  State  Senator  from  Stoneham  in 
1852,  as  his  house  was  just  over  the  line  from  Melrose;  but 
this  territory  was  detached  from  Stoneham  and  joined  to 
Melrose  in  1853.  He  was  identified  with  the  anti-slavery 
movement  from  its  beginnings,  being  one  of  the  few  wha 
joined  William  Lloyd  Garrison  when  he  came  to  Boston  in 
1830. 

Mr.  Garrison,  Oliver  Johnson  and  Samuel  J.  May,  met  in  Mr. 
Sewall's  office  on  State  Street,  Boston,  to  form  the  Massachu- 


380  .  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

setts  Anti-Slavery  Society.     Mr.  Sewall  was  also  a  prominent 
member  of  the  National  Anti-Slavery  Society. 

Upon  the  organization  of  the  Liberty  party  he  was  for  two 
years  its  candidate  for  Governor.  He  acted  with  that  and  the 
Free-Soil  party  until  they  were  merged  in  the  Republican 
party.  He  was  ever  foremost  in  advocating  the  passage  of 
laws  for  the  benefit  of  women,  and  while  in  the  Senate  he 
drafted  a  bill  which  became  a  law,  giving  married  women  the 
right  to  hold  property.  His  only  printed  work  is  a  pamphlet 
•entitled  Legal  Coriditioji  of  Women  in  Massachusetts,  which  was 
first  issued  in  1868;  then  revised  in  1870,  agam  in  1875  and 
again  in  1886.  Many  years  ago  he  was  editor  for  two  years  of 
the  American  Jurist  afid  Law  Magazine  (a  quarterly).  He 
also  edited,  in  connection  with  Willard  Phillips,  two  editions 
of  Sir  John  Bayley's  Summary  of  the  Law  of  Bills  of  Exchange, 
Cash  Bills  and  Promissory  Notes,  the  last  edition  being  issued 
in  1836.  Many  years  ago  he  contributed  a  number  of  articles 
to  the  Christian  Register.  The  only  other  published  matter  of 
his,  aside  from  that  arising  from  his  long  life  devoted  to  the 
law,  is  his  sketch  of  his  father,  Joseph  Sewall,  prepared  for 
the  first  volume  of  the  Memorial  Biographies  of  the  New 
England  Historic  Genealogical  Society,  published  from  the 
"Towne  Memorial  Fund."  His  father  was  a  merchant  of 
Boston  and  Treasurer  of  the  Commonwealth  from  1827  to  1832. 

Bradford  Torrey,  was  born  in  Weymouth,  Massachusetts, 
October  9,  1843.  This  keen  observer  of  nature  and  great  lover 
of  birds,  lived  in  Melrose  for  a  number  of  years.  His  first 
book.  Birds  in  the  Bush,  was  published  in  1885.  Far  and  wide 
did  he  ramble,  but  many  of  his  observations  were  made  here 
in  Melrose: 

After  the  music  of  the  Alice  and  the  Swainson  thrushes,  the  chief 
distinction  of  May,  1 884,  as  far  as  my  Melrose  woods  were  concerned, 
was  the  entirely  unexpected  advent  of  a  colony  of  rose-breasted  gros- 
beaks. For  five  seasons  I  had  called  these  hunting  grounds  my  own, 
.  .  .  before  the  end  of  the  following  month  the  hermit  thrushes,  the 
olive  beaked  thrushes  and  the  gray-chested  thrushes  all  sang  for  me 
in  my  Melrose  woods. 

Since  then  he  has  written  The  Footpath  Way,  1892,^  Rambler  s 
Lease,  1889,  A  Florida  Sketch  Book,  1894,  Spring  Notes  of  Ten- 
nessee, i8g6,  A  World  of  Green  Hills,  1898  and  Footing  it  in 
Franconia,  1901.      Most  of  the  contents  of  these  volumes  were 


BIBLIOGRAPHY.  381 

first  contributed  to  the  Atlantic  Monthly;  afterward  published 
in  book  form. 

The  bibliography  of  writings  pertaining  particularly  to  Mel- 
rose is  as  follows: 

In  1832,  the  Rev.  S.  Osgood  Wright  preached  "  An  Historical 
Discourse,"  at  Maiden  on  Thanksgiving  Day,  which  contained 
"A  Sketch  of  the  History  of  that  Town  from  the  Settlement 
to  the  Present  Time,"  in  which  two  or  three  pages  are  devoted 
to  "that  part  of  the  town  called  the  North  End." 

The  Origin  and  Present  Condition  of  Free  Masonry  in  Melrose. 
Prepared  by  direction  of  the  Waverley  Masonic  Association, 
for  the  purpose  of  being  deposited  in  the  Corner  Stone  of  their 
new  edifice,  at  Melrose,  June  25,  a.d.  1866.  By  Levi  S.  Gould, 
Past  Master  of  Wyoming  Lodge,  1866. 

The  Melrose  Memorial,  The  Annals  of  Melrose,  Contity  of  Mid- 
dlesex, Massachusetts,  in  the  Great  Rebellion  of  1 86 1 -6^,  By 
Elbridge  H.  Goss.     Privately  Printed  by  Subscription,  1868. 

The  Centennial  Fourth.  Historical  Address  Delivered  in 
Town  Hall,  Melrose,  Mass.,  July  4,  1876,  by  Elbridge  H.  Goss. 
Also,  The  Proceedings  of  the  Day.  Privately  Printed,  Mel- 
rose, 1876. 

"  History  of  Melrose,  by  Elbridge  H.  Goss,"  for  the  History 
of  Middlesex  County,  Massachusetts,  adxicd  by  Samuel  Adams 
Drake,  who  wrote  for  it  the  "General  History  of  the  County," 
1880. 

Bibliography  of  Melrose,  by  Elbridge  H.  Goss,  1889.^ 

"  History  of  Melrose,  by  Elbridge  H.  Goss,"  for  the  History 
of  Middlesex  County,  Massachusetts,  ivith  Biographical  Sketches 
of  many  of  its  Pioneers  and  Promifient  Men,  1 890. 

Echoes  from  Mystic  Side,  Maiden,  Melrose,  Everett,  by  H.  M.. 
1890.  This  little  work  contains  a  short  sketch  of  Melrose, 
with  the  following  appreciative  item: 

The  growth  of  the  town  is  due  to  the  energy  and  attention  of  its 
people,  m  improving  a  tract  of  land  already  beautified  by  nature. 
Many  fine  residences  have  been  erected,  and  Melrose  is  acknowledged 
as  one  of  the  most  attractive  places  in  this  vicinity. 

Melrose:  Town  and  City  1850 — I(po.  Published  on  the 
occasion  of  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  Meh\)se,  May,  1900. 
Issued  by  Charles  II.  Adams,  proprietor  of  the iT/<c/w.y<f  yoitrnal. 

^  This  Bibliography  contains  writers  anil  tlieir  works,  than  are 
other   details   concerning   Melrose       here  given. 


582  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

This  work  contains  a  historical  sketch  by  Elbridge  H.  Goss, 
an  account  of  the  speeches  and  other  proceedings  at  the 
Banquet  in  City  Hall,  May  2,  1900,  given  by  the  Board  of 
Trade,  views  of  many  of  its  public  buildings  and  finest  resi- 
dences, from  photographs  by  Lewis  A.  Dow,  and  portraits 
by  Mrs.  Addie  K.  Robinson  and  Elmer  Chickering;  and  bio- 
graphical sketches  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  of  the 
leading  and  best  known  citizens. 

Every  two  years  Edward  A.  Jones  issues  a  new  edition  of 
t\\e  Business  and  Resident  Diirctojy  of  Melrose.  It  contains  a 
complete  resident,  street  and  business  directory,  city  officers, 
schools,  societies,  churches,  post-offices,  etc.  and  a  map  of  the 
city.     The  fifth  edition  was  issued  in  1902. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 
NEWSPAPERS. 

OUR  First  Newspaper.  The  first  Melrose  newspaper  was 
called  the  Melrose  Advertiser.  The  first  number  was 
issued  in  January,  1856.  It  was  "A  Family  Newspaper, 
Devoted  to  the  Interest  of  the  Business  Community,  the  Public 
and  Ourselves."  It  was  published  monthly  by  G.  S.  Severy 
and  A.  H.  V^arney.  It  continued  to  be  issued  for  about  a  year, 
when  it  ceased  to  exist  for  want  of  patrona,2^e,  notwithstanding^ 
the  introductory  editorial,  in  No.  i,  said:  "This  paper  is 
presented  to  the  public  in  full  confidence  that  it  will  be 
abundantly  sustained  and  liberall}-  patronized."  It  was  a 
small  four-paged  sheet,  thirteen  by  eighteen  inches. 

On  the  next  page  is  a  reduced  reproduction  of  the  first  page 
of  the  No.  5,  issued  in  May,  1856,  which  as  the  written  legend 
at  the  top  tells  us: 

This  is  the  first  paper  printed  m  Melrose.  I  set  the  type  and  did 
the  presswork  before  I  was  sixteen  years  old.  Edwin  C.  Gould. 

This  was  the  only  number  that  was  printed  in  Melrose,  the 
rest  of  the  work  having  been  done  in  Boston.  This  number 
was  printed  in  a  little  building  which  stood  on  Essex  street, 
opposite  the  City  Hall,  on  the  site  of  the  present  laundry  of 
Charlie  Sing,  and  store  of  the  Smith  Brothers  —  they  of  the 
automatic  cordwainer,  with  surrounding  sign:  "Shoemaking; 
That's  our  business."  Only  a  few  numbers  of  the  Advertiser 
can  be  found,  although  effort  has  been  made  to  gather  a  com- 
plete set  for  our  Public  Library.  The  only  numbers  I  have 
seen  are  i,  2,  5  and  7.  In  those  numbers  are  many  items  of 
interest  concerning  the  then  existing  institutions  and  business. 
Melrose  then  had  about  twenty-five  hundred  inhabitants.  In 
Vol.  I,  No.  2,  "An  Old  Resident,].  B.,"  writing  from  Province- 
town  is  reminicial  and  calls  to  mind  old  times  as  follows  : 

Do  you  remember  when  there  was  but  one  church  and  that  without 


^A~yAMlLY    NKWSl'AFEK,    DEVOTEI)    TO    THE  .lOTL^lESTJJF^THij^^^^SS^JM^ 


VOL^; 

JlELKOsE    ADVr.UTlSKR 

I.  puUBheJ  MoniUljI  by 

r^lrcBU  per  annual,  i"'  tO^anrt  . 
i.rclt_  ^^^__^j  .^  ^^.p^^.  ,n„n  in  NVw 

TERSSOFADVERTISING.^ 

One  totama, 
OBcttAir  coloron.. 
Ooeqnatwcolomi 
<Joe«qoare,l'CIi 


MELROSE:  MAY,  1S56. 


NO-    5. 


^OICIITS  FOP.  A  VOUM.  MAN. 


St»y,yonn; 
JwouW'. 


:f','.',T„f;nrl°.".Vn';,T""' 


?  mooj,  r.  I 


Mill  in  \\\ 
obserfcr  n-islil  hove  >con  il;ai  a  lifcn 
me  of  prariic.il  joLlng  larl.cd  in  llieir 
jfenmin::  depth.'. 

Ishpiniii)  t]j:c(l  not  vrnluve  far  oui.  Tor 
1  close  bloflindc  W3S  l^rpl  up  along  ihe 
'oa.'l-  .Tnd  ?n  ihev  were  forccti  lo  forcqo 
he  advani.i^es'of  llicir  tesl  fishing 
Trciund?.  Cut  a  new  iue.l  had  been 
akine  po  fci-icn  of  iheii  brains. and  they 
houpht  nf  filling  out 
the  English.     For  tw 


had  ihii 


1  peiso 


wai-rare  hail  been 
ed.  but'  no  ve>rel  suiiuble  for  lie 
iii.ecouldbe  oblainrd,  nor  could 
rai^c  cons   heovv  enungh  for  h,r 


:n  had ihev 
iiols     and' 


iinio': 


of  he 


rnou;h.  and  iliatna: 
rd  one  old  si^-pouiidi 
a  lind  of  signal  gun 
fo;;5  and  sioiiny  niiihi;. 

It    was   ju<l   at  "ni-lnrall    ihat   Olied 
Xi;hling»le's  shallop  (Obrd  iva«  Ibe  old 


son), 


ando 

me  on  shore,  he  reported 
an  English  lop  ail  schoon- 
liper-buill  cinfl,  laving  olf 
fndiiicledg- 
d,  and  seem- 
er  as  ibougb 


I  Maohc. 


es.  She  was  heavily  ar 
ed  lo  play  aboul  in  llie  m 
her  heels  were  made  for  running. 

Now  Cap:.  Nisii.lngalcbjd  sa.d  vrry 
lilile  about  the  various  projects  ihjl  had 
bei-n  sei  on  foot  with  regard  lo  the  pri- 
vateering expedition,  but  he  had ihought 
a  good  deal,  and  a'  soon  as  his  son  com- 
municated the  above  intelligenre,  his 
hou^hts  eame  to  a  focus.  A  plan  of 
)pcia.ioii  was  clearly  marked  out  in  bis 
nind,  and  he  at  onrc  set  about  the  work 
of  pulling  it  inioefTcfi. 

The  man    w  ho  stood  second  lo    Capl 
l-hlip^nle,    a«    mate.    «as  jabe  Has- 
l.ii-. 


■  Helloiv  :■  re 

11, 

.cd  J4be. 

■  •Dovousiir 

en 

ler  V 

•  Wal.efjo 

w 

011^  t»iikeus,  I  s'p 

I  c^^n'i  help  inj 

-el 

The  clipper 

bo 

ve  he'.:  fnre-lop'^ail 

ilie   masl   and 

veredfO  bnal,    and 

afierrtMTui   her  ee 

Ll  rViajJie.i.   cj 

over  the  Van'.. 

e' 

\:ft»-v^f,x 

•  :>-•'■ 


■Vi* 


a  ludici( 
•So  JO 

offlcf  r. ' 
•  I  done 


ob- 
op. 
el-,,  wo»  ll.c  Hirp  gUu  rflnsd- 
r.it  ihough  ilia' thought  of  an 
1  pirate  inodp^flira  feel  sore, 
uld  not  help  la  vl'ing  at  the  i  i- 
scene  thus  ptej>nted  to  gaze, 
ve  gieen  lookii*!-  lisbermeo  to- 
lib  that  gun,  ditl^,iesent  rather 


appen 


(.att 


ledi- 


fended  air,   •  1  s'| 

1   should    have 
.-hould  a  been  pit 

'•Ho   ' 


iriteid  the  British 

erl  We  wUb  an  of- 
e  xiyi.  eome  across 
hai  Jupuldhaveiotik, 
ne  iio^ul  dono  as  1 
ng  uii;  morclii  jr«a 


•Nevi 


lind   that,  ."ffta'hafl.     We'll 
no   Halifax, 'and  there,  per- 


•Well,  s  pose  aegear. 

take  be 

•Take  that  Englishman 

!-\V.h- 

•  But  Tarn  in  earnest.' 

Jabc  looked   at  Nighti 

ngale  wi 

THE  ENCLISUMAN'S  IJCPLOIT. 
HviO  much   lit  made  by  it. 

DV  SYLVANUS    CODB,   JB. 

Maoy  yesfi  050,  when  we  wc 
■tcre  boy.  nc  if^eil  10  >ii  upcn  a 
siool,  at  ibc  fen  or  ComrDoJcrc  S:ii 
Tucker,  anJ  hojr  lUm  old 


ihe  incidoi 
ebscrvaiion 


veteran  jrhi 
ilu.i  tp.J  roine  under  hiv 
r.ns  ihc  biui  u'-leui.h 
Great  Br.i.an.  Among  ihL-  Uiou^anJ 
■nd  one  s-oriri  ihni  wc  have  hear.!  fall 
from  the  tips  of  ihji  occn  wufiior,  ihe 
(oJlowio^  hjs  rt-inainrd  (.c^^h  in  oui 
jueniory. 

On  ihe  urffm  ehoro  of  Pcnol.coi 
Bay.  between  Bcirast  and  Co  mdcn 
ihere  w^n  n  ^mt>l|  elut)  uf  Tii^licrinen*! 
coU,  inhubttrd  by  a  hardy  cci  of  tner 
who  had  (fo'rt  inlnm  y  been  brouylil  uj 
amid  the  hiumc  of  the  brcuLing  wnvps 
aifld  who  bot'w  no  k-ar  bttit-inh  ihc  |iu\v 

(tiOiC  fliitJ'M.i  o(  Ihe  M'.' 


th  ihe 

*  i  cnn  50  oiu  in  my  lilile  Rhody  an' 
lal^c  her  before  she  knows  \vhe(e  she  is. 
Now  will  yon  help  me?' 

*  rir  toiler  jer,  capunn,  ef  you  go  lew 
ihundcr.'  wa*  J;il»?'6  li'-aty  response,  as 
lie^rwlhe  old  n:an  was  in  earnest. 

Cjpi.  Nightingale  look  his  mate  by 
lie  arm,  and  led  him  oX  The  nislii 
ins  dnilt,  but  stilt  there  waj  n  busy 
ccnc  on  board  ihc  schooner  rhpr.ly, 
ihlcli  was  ihc;  Ii?avc-t  filling  vcEi-cl  in 
lie  pbce.  Torches  ueve  gleaming  10 
nd  fro  all  nighl  long,  hammers  ond 
aws  wore  sending  forih  their  mn-^ic, 
nd  when  the  morning  dawned,  Uie  Rho- 
dy wns  rendy  for  sea,  iho  old  iron  sig- 
npl  z^>n  was  holscd  00  board,  ond 
placalona  niilc  so.l  of  carriage  mii'- 
.-hips  iljccodlme  biuKeis  and  b:iii  bo^os 
had  been  elc;»icd  ^-iv.iy.  pimI  irl.c  I-rr  nil 
in  all.  vbeUrc  fo.ne  f.  iiu  re  embVncc 
10  :*ii  embf^o  pimio  or  privaiuPr. 

^^he  vvas'mannscd  by  inclvcmcn,  of 
whomJabe  ILxLins  loolc  command.— 
The  peop'e  'wondetfd  where  Cr.pl. 
\l3h:i..-j!o  «;.i,  Oui  J;iL.e  set  l.'ic-r 
hciTUal  rcn   by  telling  ibcm  he  would 


take  y 
baps,  y 

The  srVoqne:  v  o'  .^Tcbed  fore  and 
aft,  but  all  '..lal  eoyid  .-a  found  were  a 
dozen  old  pi'slois,  nrd.  aboul  es  many 
swords,  whiAifcre  o  fee  cabin,  while 
in  ihe  ■Jo'u  liiey  d-.^cov,  red  De'hmg  but 
on  ai-av  of  empty  bo.\cs^nd  barrel^. — 
The  Englishman  (eli  ic»wc  of  his  oah 

own  »ess«),  leading  ibo«ihe' six  under 
•  be  charge  of  the  ofBcer  who  bad  been 
appointed  to  ibe  command  of  tbe  Rhody, 
and  gave  ordeis  Uiat  ibe  schooner 
should  be'liuw  close  io  bis  woke  during 
the  Disht,'«'»-he  intended  to  see  her 
safely  out  tfT.Soch  of  the  Yankee  co^st- 

Dntil  nine  o'clock  at  aigbt  tbe  Hbo- 
dy  stood  after  tbe  e  ipper,  with  "all  sails 
Set,  wbi'e  the  tatter  only  carried  her 
maintain  *^:ltno  jibs  Tbt  sit  Yan- 
kees wlin*-'.  A  been  leil  on  board  were 
secured  iom  '-'J'ong  boat,  tvLi'e  tbe  Licu- 
teoant  in  command  and  five  of  his  men 
had  the  first  watch,  when  ihe  clipper 
^Iruek  two  bells,  the  vessels  were  not 
rooc  than  two  cable's  length  npan,  the 
pri/c  being  a  little  to  the  windwoid, 
owjn;  to  her  bad  sailing,  ihe  Lieuten- 
antvvished  to  Uep  the  ive.illier  {.uage. 
Tlio  night  was  quite  dark,  and  ihcw.n.l, 
which  had  fallen  some  since  sundown, 
bad  veered  slightlv  to  th  ■  northward. 
.  Wliile  the  prize-mast-  r  was  earnestly 
engaged  in  keeping  up  w 


aptnr,  while  ihe  bnld  lish- 
...i.lyall  couched  bcieaih 


•  T.  II  lite 
k.ik.anill 
ve    lbri.>« 


the 


pnnipbreaks    over- 
nanl  looked  first  at 


]'lie  ponr  II 

■  »lern  face  ofihc  old  man,  and  ll'cn 
the  i,iii,;:le  of  the  pistol,  am!  then 
e'chinghis  lungs  Co  ibe  ut^osf,  olie'-- 
iSe  order.    .   ' 

■  NnwtefftSWliu 


?a7e  to,  and  you 
n  along  side.' 

The  tnghtened  ofiirer    obeyed     ar 
c  next  wToinent  the  clipper's  bel 
dnwn,    and    her  main 


pui 

hove  to  ^vil 


aid. 


of  the  Yankee  fishermen  were 
^lotioned  at  the  lee-rail,  with  stout  grop. 
Logs  in  their  hands,  and  m  levi  ihan 
tne  minutes  llie  Rhody's  bowsprif  loom, 
ed  over  ihe  clipper's  weather  quarter. 
Ooed  shoved  the  helm  down,  and  the 
next  instant  she  lay  broadside  to  the 
I  Upper,  when  Capl.  Nightingale  and  all 
bis  men  rushed  on  board,  armed  to  the 
loeth.— The  cainmanderof  ihe  clipper 
rallied  his  men  for  the  fight,  but  being 
taken  hy  surprise,  they  were  soon  over- 
nowereiJ,  bound  and  thrust  under  the 
bairhe«.  except  the  officers,  who  after 
being  disarmed  were  allowed  their  liber- 
ty ripon  the  vessel. 

'  A;icr  the  affray  was  over,  Capl. 
Nightingale  approached  the  Captain  of 
the  clipper  who  was  raving  with  evcit^- 
roeni.— •  Wal.  Cap'n,  what  J've'  think 
now  ahoui  taking'  us  into  Halifax'' 
I'he  only  lejily  he  received  was  a  eurs- 
io-.  for  what  he  called  a  •  contemptable 
Yankee  trick.' 

The  clip|.er  was  taken  into  Penob- 
,cot  Bof.  her  nlTirers  and  crew  handed 
(Tver  (1?  prisufier.s  ol  war.  ami  filled  out 
Ii(riSrne'B5«u-Aiticrie«iT-pii»««-«i''*l» 
sailed  in  her  lor  several  years  in  that 
lapacity,  and  when  peace  was  officially 
announced,  he  retired  lo  his  humble 
borne,  having  captured  a  large  number 
of  Engli.-h  merchantmen,  richly  laden, 
during  his  various  cruises,  by  which  he 
and  his  brave  companions'  became 
weallhv,  some  ofwiiom  yet  live  io  quiet 
allluence,  within  sight  of  ihe  place  where 
the  clipper  was  captured. 


till  Ibe 


inn 


•  nadir 


but  1 


).n   you 


ordered  from  your  doors;  and  I  ha'i- 
now  the  same  halird  tooppre«  ion  I  had 
then:  and  were  it  my  bi  meal.  I  •:  nm 
eat  or  d,.nl,  m  a  l.ou-e  beloo'  in»  to  so 
hc-anlessascoundrel.' 

•  Centlemen,'  -aid  he  •■■■u--^fll\o  hi. 
frieniU.'  I  beg  ptrdoii  fiir  lu«.mwil,rptiV  ; 
but  were  I  lo  dii'e  uiid-r  (h-  roof  of  ibis 
liine-r-rvi,,g.  gold  lov  1.7  Iru;/.,  u;.  ^,„ 
inouiliful  I  am  sN.e^eWrt-t:,,,,^..,^^  , 

ITciii  kvjii  li'..  wo  d.  aod  the  parly  aa- 


r  hoKl. 


5  being  enar 
;  of  the  boards  i 
a  pan   of  n  suii 


.  the  fcbc 


rdid. 


the  = 


of  ri.lei 


iiddle  aged  1 


iiiiple,  Ol.ai,  he  1 
Captain  Niglinn!; 
ibcre  a  mail  Uii 
■lie  |»M  he  h.-M  L 


sea,a„Uocci.pyl|. 
mnng  ihem,  was 
auii-d  Liioch  Nigh 
IS    genvfally    culk-i 


In  an  hcur  after  davlighl  ibe  libody 
hove  lip  her  anchor  and  in.idc  sail,  and 
ill  le-s  (bin  five  hours  she  poked  her 
hlunl  nose  in-otbr  waters  of  the  btncAl- 
lanlic.  SI  nrdv  afier  ll.c  iclmoner  bad 
passed  Wl.iic  fleadl'glii  llie  E  .3I1M11-.11 
w.is  made  OUI,  abouiiwoin-le^di.l.iiillo 
lire  soiiih  id  ami  v.csi'rd  just  olf  il-e 
ledge-,  and  lijulcd  his  sheets  afl,   J-ibe 


■Jil  l.i 


be 


lined  by 
i-iielaleu 
,iid   aihli 
hy.sical  mould.  U.ld 

11  bU  svcial  leiai.oni 
llnbukiirn-l He  », 


,  his 


id  li.ile...  .IS  llu 

A  and   geileluu. 

M  beloved  by 

jull,  ler 


all  t 


lle-ll  frolMlhe 
.-lood  olf  ic 
i  looked  I.I.e 
1,  ^n  Ihe  Ki.; 

cr,ui-nlli    ihc 


I  opt 


ind,ivl.ic'i 


ril  n.id  ca-..'.il, 

i:''",!'-'rr.i'; 

i.j.i    iho.iijb.-iaii,: 

e,  .-nd  though  .-be 
iiiiiiM  not  be    lung 


the    hold 
seemed  ti 

floor,  was  lifieil  fiom  its:  lace  and  the 
bead  of  old  Captain  Enoch  Nightingale 
appeared  ibrouoh  the  ajerlure.  In  a 
ii'onicnl  more,  another  toard  was  re- 
uioveJ,  and  ere  long  foitj  stout  fislier- 
men,  all  well  armed,  had  come  up  from 
their  place  of  concealment,  ll  was  but 
a  momcni's  woik  to  leap  on  drib  and 
ere  the  ihundcrsirnclt  lieuicnanl  couM 
sec  fioin  whence  came  Ihc  ctiriny,  he 
w.is  bound  hand  and  loot  and  so  were 
bis  men,  while  the  poor  prisoner.,  were 
set  Irec  liom  ibc  long  boat.  Obed 
Nigb.lii-Jie  look  the  helm,  and  his 
laihcr  poi.iii.ig  n  coikej  p'slol  at  ibc 
bead  ul  lie  English  officer  said  :—  ' 
'Do   vou  Ihiii'i  wo   aicJQ  curowf.or 


Kcan  aitii  tke  Vtiilic 

,. 

While  playiof 

at  E.Ncier,  i 

a  England, 

the 

beiglii  of 

bis  popula 

ily,  Kean 

as  11 

vited  to  din 
of  th-;  pr^n 

cipal  hotels. 

He    drove 

ere 

age.   Thed 

inner  was 

101 

need, the  1 

ble  sumptuously  deco- 

ndlord   all 

bows   and 

g  that  the 

genllencn 

guishrd   vi 

nor  found 

Ihin-' to  their  salisfacli 

n. 

„  sinred  at 

liinforsom 

••  moments. 

'  ll  is,Illr.Kean;  1  have  bad  the  honor 

of  mceliiig  you  before-' 
■      Kept  some  years 


mall  lav 


in  the 


iskii-lsotlbc 


not  i 


I'd  ibl.lk  JO 


•Scoipionahoy,'bl.ou 
ant,  as  if  for  de.ir  lile. 

In  the  mean  lime  ihr 
been  lei  nfl  a  lililu   iii'oit 


c'  replied  ibc 

L-d  liie    licutcD- 

Vanl. 
than 


i  did.  Mr.  Kean.  Foitune  has  U-cn 
kind  10  lio.htf  us  since  ihen.  I  recol- 
lect you,  sir,  when  you  bclongril  lo  our 
tlieairc  licre.' 

•And  I.  sir,' said  Kean,  jumping  up, 
recoHiCl  JOB  '-  Many  ycom  ago  I  come 
I  0  vonrpalirylrvcrn,  afiera  long  jour- 
ney'wiilin  siiirering  wife  and  a  sick 
child,  all  of  us  «el  to  ibe -kin.  1  asked 
lor  a   morsel  of   refreshment,    yon 


in 


a  do; 


refii-cd  I 
until  yo. 


nd 
an  bamh 


1  bad  1 


THE  5>C.\.NUAL  MONtfER. 
Who  is  there,  ihal  at  some  pcrid  of 
their  life,  has  not  suffered  from  ibe  ven- 
om of  the  scandal  monger?  who  has  not 
fell  a  shadow  falling  upon  their  liean,  as 
dark  as  liie  darkest  shadnw  Iheir  fotto 
would  e-asl    in    the  silnlighl,   and   hive 

hidden  enemy  was  at  work  10  iheir  dis 
may?  Thai  friend,  should  give  ear  to 
'hese  calumnies— that  friends  should, 
have  so  Uttoaffi-narity  cs  lo  b"lcive  in 
these  vile  aspersions,  is  the  mot  woful 
point  of  all.'  In  reading  "Eanie-l  Lin 
wood."  the  following  gem,  worthy  of  a 
place  upon  every  heart,  situck  me  as 
being  approprictc  to  the  subjcclj  and 
worth  a  setting  by  il3elf  a..j.„.4k. 

Tiiaj  iayr  Who  are  »vn.v.n;i .(-,'  mid- 
niglil  as.:a^sios  of  repul»nc\5m"no^urk  in 
the  by-lanes  of  society,  with  dagger  Ion 
goes,  sharpened  by  invention  and  enven- 
omed by  malice,  to  draw  the  bioud  of  in- 
nocence, and,  bj-ena-like,  banquet  on 
Ihe  dead!  ino  jre  //;'■-•  O  tiK^t,\ 
world  skulker' ..i.f  me  li-  bo'd  br-and_. 
•Bo  tDunuefs  aiongn»^^-nirtys-wllb 
flashing  weapon,  ihat  cuts  tbe  sunbeam 
as  well  as  the  shade!  give  mc  Ibe  pirate 
who  unfurls  Ihe  black  fiaai„emblem  of 
his  terrable  trade,  and  sho'.'i'<f(ir»e  plank 
which  your  doomed  foot  mut/r  otad;  but 
save  me  from  the  ihey-iayerr  of  society, 
whose  knives  are  hidden  "1d  a  velvet 
ahealb,  whose  bridge  of  death  is  woven 
of  flowers,  and  w  bo  spread  with  invisible 
poisen  even  the  spotless  whiteness  Of 
ihe  winding  slieel!" 

Is  not  thai  to  the  poioi? — V-nion. 


A  pedler,  callnig  on  an  old  lady  to  dls- 
pose  of  aome  goods,  inquired  ol  her  if 
she  could  tell  him  of  any  road  tbal  no 
pedler  had  ever  travelled.  ."VeJ,  I 
know  of  one,  and  only  one,  which  Do 
pedler  has  ever  irnvelled,  (the  pedler's 
conntenancc  hrighieoed,)  and  ihai'a  the 
road  to  heaven." 


A  lawyer  had  his  head  n^easured  for 
a  wig,  when  the  functionary  e.vrlaiined, 
••  Why,  how  long  your  head  i.,  sir!"— 
'•  Yes,"  vrtS  ihe  reply,  "vvc  law-yers  mnsl 
have  loog  headsl"  Tlic  wig-ni.,ker pro- 
ceeded, when  he  suddcii'y  exdaiiaeJ. 
■■Why.  sir.  your  head  isaa  ihictasil  a 
long !"  

A  man  advertises  for  a  person  l«  «ll 
a  neiv  inidiC'ne,  and  adds  ibat  it  will 
be  round  profi-.ablc  to  ihe  vntiertaltr. 

Cent,  ill  l.otel  dinner  table — -Waitei 
bung  lue  a  pl.ne  of  Hies  and  a  plale  01 


1  left  my  family  by  your  mhospiia 

side,  while  1  sought  fur  lodging-.    ' 

retain  >  yO"  O'dered  mc  like  a  bi 

ak?  iho   wile  and   brat   liom-  yo 

and  nbii.-cd  me  fur   iioi  ipcut 

ll.  the  rioney  1  b  id  got  for    fo 

.cas>ou.ay,baidoi.,son,eib 

both  since  llico  ;  bui  yon  mc  ■ 

c    had  Ithe  samel  >ce— the  s.imc  cringing  «r 

cable's  fiiii,  tfccdy   money   bui.ur.  1   ur,  i 


':?r 


I  p.efer 


«ll." 


buue 

A  Beig OoiiM  ihi.iLi  be  has  ttnikt 

secrel  of  producing  a  blue  dahlia,  for 
which  a  large  |.ii/e  'la.  lor  a  Ions  lime 
been  o6e  red. 


The 


.'   III! 


,s  ibji  uever  be* 
y  of  tbe  Lenevo- 

buclici'>  borso 


NEWSPAPERS.  885 

a  steeple  ?  When  there  was  but  one  minister  to  "  break  the  bread  of 
life  "  to  all  classes ;  teaching  his  way  to  Heaven  ?  Do  you  remember 
the  pastures  where  the  cattle  once  grazed  in  their  quietness  ;  not 
thinking  a  railroad  was  slumbering  in  their  path  ?  Do  you  remember 
Ell  Pond  where  the  pickerel  so  tempted  the  plowman's  boy ;  and  from 
whose  depths  the  salt  rheum  doctor  took  many  a  turtle  of  monstrous 
size,  to  prop  his  inner  man  ?  And  do  you  remember  when,  way  back 
of  the  fatherest  uplands,  where  the  rattlesnakes  were  molested  but  few 
times  during  the  year,  where  lived  an  old  negro  who  was  a  boy  in  the 
Indian  War,  and  who  died,  as  near  as  could  be  ascertained,  at  the 
advanced  age  of  one  hundred  and  sixteen  years  ?  The  footing  of  it 
two  and  a  half  miles  to  the  post-ofifice  ?  The  day's  journey  to  Boston 
and  back  ? 

Not  a  single  store-keeper's  firm,  as  now  existing,  appears  in 
its  columns;  the  nearest  approach  to  any  business  existing 
being  that  of  Bugbee  &  Howard,  now  Bugbee  &  Barrett,  We 
then  had  a  "Melrose  Temperance  Saloon,"  in  Boardman's 
Block,  Essex  Street.  There  was  also  an  account  of  the  pre- 
sentation of  a  silver  cake  basket  and  spoons  to  Miss  Sarah  F. 
Norris,  soprano,  and  a  Bible  to  Mr.  George  Newhall — our 
Town  Treasurer  for  twenty-seven  years — chorister,  by  the 
First  Baptist  Society. 

The  Melrose  Journal.  The  next  local  paper  to  be  pub- 
lished in  the  interest  of  Melrose  affairs,  was  the  Melrose  Journal, 
which  was  established  December  lo,  1870,  by  Henry  C.  Gray. 
This  was  the  first  weekly  paper.  From  the  salutatory:  "We 
need  not  assure  our  readers  that  we  intend  to  make  of  this  a 
live  paper.  We  shall  print  no  other;  we  would  have  our  name 
at  the  head  of  no  other."  At  this  time  the  paper  was  printed 
for  three  different  towns,  with  proper  name  for  each  town: 
Stoneham  Sentinel,  Reading  Chronicle  and  Melrose  Journal; 
the  work  being  done  in  Stoneham.  Mr.  Gray  was  alone  until 
October  19,  1872,  when  he  formed  a  co-partnership  with  L.  S. 
Metcalf,  who,  in  a  few  year  became  the  sole  proprietor,  Mr. 
Gray  going  to  Maiden  to  assume  the  ownership  of  the  Maiden 
Mirjvr.  October  2,  1875  ^  rival  paper  appeared:  The  Melrose 
Record,  George  M.  Ray  and  J.  W.  Mclntyre,  proprietors.  This 
had  but  a  short  life,  expiring  April  29,  1876.  Meanwhile  the  late 
William  L.  Williams  had  become  connected  with  the  Joiiryial 
as  editor.  Mr.  Metcalf  sold  the  paper  in  May,  1876,  to  Messrs. 
G.  A.  Kimball  &  Co.,  during  which  year  the  work  was  done  in 
the  Waverley   Building,  on    the    corner    of    Essex    and   West 


386  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Emerson  Streets.  Several  changes  took  place  between  the 
years  1876  and  1878,  the  owners  being  respectively  Walter  R. 
Phillips,  Joseph  P.  Baker  and  A.  J.  Hoyt;  the  office  being  re- 
moved from  the  Waverley  Block  to  Boardman's  Block,  Main 
Street,  its  present  quarters. 

When  Mr.  Hoyt  assumed  control,  Mr.  Baker  started  a  rival, 
The  Me/rose  Weekly  Visitor,  February  16,  1878.  Mr.  Hoyt  was 
unsuccessful  and  Mr.  Baker  continued  the  Visitor  until  July 
26,  1879,  when  the  paper  was  sold  to  Messrs.  George  W. 
Reynolds  and  Aubrey  W.  Dunton,  and  the  old  name  Melrose 
Journal  resumed.  Messrs.  Reynolds  &  Dunton  continued  to 
issue  the  paper  until  August  i,  1880,  when  the  partnership  was 
dissolved,  and  Mr.  Reynolds  continued  as  the  proprietor  until 
February  23,  1884,  when  he  sold  out  to  William  L.  Williams. 
Mr.  Williams  died  January  12,  1888,  and  was  succeeded  by  his 
son,  Leonard  F.  Williams,  who  continued  until  March  16,  1889, 
when  W.  B.  Howe  became  the  proprietor.  He  remained  the 
proprietor  until  May  10,  1890,  at  which  time  Charles  H. 
Adams  purchased  the  plant,  and  he  still  remains  publisher 
and  proprietor  with  David  G.  Davidson,  manager,  carrying  on 
a  job  and  book  printing  business  in  connection  with  the  news- 
paper. 

After  an  absence  of  several  years,  Mr.  Dunton  returned  to 
Melrose  and  associated  himself  with  Samuel  G.  Potter,  who 
had  been  foreman  of  the  yonrnal,  and  under  the  firm  name  of 
Dunton  &  Potter,  established  themselves  as  job  printers,  and 
began  the  issue  of  a  new  weekly  newspaper.  The  Melrose 
Reporter.  The  first  number  was  issued  Octobtn-  8,  1887;  and 
from  that  day  both  papers  ha\-e  made  their  welcome  vveekl\- 
visits  to  the  citizens  of  Melrose.  As  has  the  Journal,  so  has 
the  Reporter  carried  on  book  and  job  printing  from  the  date 
when  first  established;  and  for  many  years  the  Annual  Town 
and  City  Reports  have  been  printed  at  the  Reporter  office. 
November  i,  1899,  the  Daily  Reporter  was  established.  It 
continued  during  the  period  of  transition  from  Town  to  City, 
giving  full  reports  of  nominations,  elections,  and  the  inaugura- 
tion of  the  new  city  government.  January  15,  1900,  it  was 
suspended.  October  i,  1900,  the  firm  of  Dunton  &  Potter  was 
dissolved  by  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Potter,  and  Ralph  H.  Wilbur 
became  a  partner  under  the  firm  name  of  A.  W.  Dunton  &  Co. 

On   the   15th   of  November,    190 1,  a   new  weekly  paper  was 


NEWSPAPERS.  387 

established  by  Samuel  G.  Potter,  formerly  of  Dunton  &  Potter, 
publishers  of  the  Reportei'.  As  its  name  indicates,  the  Melrose 
Free  Press  has  no  subscription  list,  but  is  given  free  to  the 
citizens,  being  sustained  by  its  advertisements.  Thirty-four 
hundred  copies  are  printed  and  distributed  each  week.  Its 
legend  is  "A  Newspaper  for  Everybody."  Among  other  things 
in  its  "Greeting,"  it  said: 

We  intend  to  make  the  Free  Press  valuable,  not  only  as  an  advertis- 
ing medium,  but  we  feel  that  it  will  be  sought  after  as  a  good  local 
newspaper  without  price.  .  .  .  We  believe  in  the  advancement  of 
Melrose  in  every  way,  and  will  strive  to  advocate  those  things  which 
are  for  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest  number. 

The  Press  has  adopted  a  unique  feature  for  each  issue.  A 
cartoon,  vividly  depicting  some  local  political  issue,  striking 
feature,  existing  evil,  or  public  want,  is  given.  The  cartoonist 
is  Arthur  M.  Blackstone. 

As  an  aid  and  adjunct  to  the  educational  interests  of  the 
schools  of  Melrose,  a  monthly  magazine  has  been  established, 
the  first  number  of  which  was  issued  in  January,  1900.  It  is 
called  HigJi  School  Life,  and  is  edited  by  the  pupils  of  the 
High  School,  from  year  to  year.  The  contributions  are  by  the 
pupils,  aided  by  the  teachers  and  superintendent.  These  are 
not  onl)^  interesting,  but  highly  beneficial  ;  creating  and 
encouraging  a  love  for  writing,  aiding  largely  their  study  of 
composition  and  rhetoric,  ability  of  expression,  and  the  form- 
ing of  a  general  and  uplifting  love  of  literature. 

March  29.  1902,  two  young  schoolboys,  Merritt  and  James 
A\'ard,  publishers  and  editors,  thinking  there  was  still  room  in 
the  newspaperdom  of  Melrose  for  another  visitor,  issued  a  new 
monthly  called  The  Enterprise.  It  is  a  small  affair,  but  shows 
enterprise  in  effort  as  well  as  name.  One  of  the  cardinal 
principles  in  its  salutatory  was  : 

Locally  we  shall  always  do  what  is  in  our  power  for  the  election  of 
the  person  for  office  whom  we  think  the  most  capable  and  honest, 
regardless  of  politics  whatever. 


CHAPTER  XXIIL 

FIRE  AND  POLICE  DEPARTMENTS. 

MELROSE  is  fortunate  in  having  a  well-organized  and 
fully  equipped  Fire  Department.  It  possesses  good 
engines,  good  hose  carriages,  good  quarters,  and  good 
men  to  care  for  and  protect  our  city,  which  is  not  niggardly  in 
its  appropriations  for  fire  purposes;  consequently  our  firemen 
are  ever  alert,  doing  their  best  to  save  property  at  every  alarm ; 
and  for  years  past  we  have  had  no  large  fires.  The  most 
destructive  fire  we  ever  had  was  over  thirty-one  years  ago, 
when  nearly  all  the  stores  and  dwellings  on  the  west  side  of* 
Main  Street,  between  Foster  and  Essex  Streets,  including 
Lyceum  Hall,  were  destroyed.  This  occurred  August  20,  1870,. 
six  days  only  before  the  Spot  Pond  water  system  was  ready 
for  use.  The  next  most  destructive  one  took  place  November 
30,  1875,  when  Concert  Hall  and  Boardman's  Block,  on  the 
corner  of  Main  and  Essex  Streets,  were  burned. 

The  first  fire-engine  stationed  in  North  Maiden,  was  "  The 
Endeavor,"  bought  by  the  Town  of  Maiden  in  1846.  The 
engine  house,  recently  destroyed,  was  situated  on  Main  Street, 
a  little  way  north  of  the  First  Baptist  Church.  Before  the 
engine  house  was  built  the  engine  was  kept  in  a  barn  which 
stood  north  of  the  Methodist  Church,  at  the  junction  of  Main 
and  Green  Streets,  near  where  now  stands  the  house  of  William 
H.  Wells.  At  the  time  Melrose  was  incorporated  and  for 
many  years  after,  this  was  the  only  fire  protector  in  use. 
When  new  fire  apparatus  was  purchased,  the  old  Endeavor  was 
cast  aside;  and  for  many  years  it  was  stored  in  the  basement 
of  the  City  Hall.  It  was  finally  purchased  by  John  W. 
Farwell,^  and  is  now  in  use  at  his  mills  in  Lewiston,  Maine. 

^  November  II,  1890,  it  was  voted:  such    portion    of  the    proceeds   as 

That  the  Selectmen  be   authorized  may  be  deemed  necessary   for   the 

to  dispose  of  the  old  Endeavor  en-  building    of  a   shed    in    the   town 

giue  and  the  town  hearse,  and  use  pound. 


FIRE  AND  POLICE  DEPARTMENTS. 


389 


For  the  250th  Anniversary  of  the  incorporation  of  the  Town 
of  Maiden,  Mr.  Farvvell  kindly  allowed  the  "Old  Endeavor" 
to  be  brought  to  Melrose,  and  it  was  drawn  in  the  procession, 
May  23,  1898,  manned  by  a  company  organized  for  the  occa- 
sion, as  noted  in  the  account  of  that  celebration. 

There  was  in  use  for  a  number  of  years,  another  engine 
stationed^on  Washington  Street,  on  the  old  "  Jabe  Lynde"  place, 
as  is  seen  b\'  the  following  : 


THE    OLD    ENDEAVOR. = 

Melrose,  October  21,  1869. 
Permission   is   hereby  granted  to   Joseph   Grundy,  Jr.,  to  form  a 
private  fire  association,  to  man  the  engine  upon  his  premises. 

J.  C.  Currier, 
J.  U.  Wilde, 
Levi  S.  Gould, 

Selectmen  of  Melrose. 


-  This  picture  of  the  old  Endeavor 
was  reproduced  from  a  faded 
da<^uerrotype  now  in  possession  of 
the  Fire  Department;  evidently 
taken  soon  after  its  purchase  in 
1846  when  it  was  Endeavor  No.  3  — 
changed  to  No.  i,  after  incorpora- 
tion  of   Melrose  —  manned    by    its 


first  company,  from  what  is  now 
the  High  School  lot,  looking  across 
Main  Street  and  Dix  "Pond,  then 
much  larger  than  in  recent  days, 
extending  up  to  the  land  of  Dr. 
Levi  Gould,  who  lived  in  the  house 
now  standing  opposite  the  Metho- 
dist Church.     Old  residents  recog- 


390  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

The  engine  referred  to  is  one  that  was  acquired  by  Joseph 
Grundy,  Sr.,  when  he  came  into  possession  of  the  old  brass 
foundry  at  the  "  Red  Mills,"  and  moved  to  Melrose  in  1866. 
This  engine  formerly  belonged  to  Charlestown,  and  its 
trimmings,  part  of  which  are  now  in  possession  of  Edward  L. 
Grundy,  were  from  the  old  Hancock  engine. 

The  company  formed  was  first  called  the  Grundy  Hose  Co. 
Then  it  was  the  Wyoming  Hose  Co.,  and  out  of  that  grew  the 
present  N.  D.  Blake  Hose  Co. 

With  the  view  of  increasing  our  facilities  for  giving  alarm  in 
cases  of  fire,  and  as  an  improvement  on  the  old  system  of  bell- 
ringing,  the  following  article  appeared  in  the  warrant  for 
March  5,  1888: 

To  see  what  action  the  town  will  take  to  establish  telephonic  or 
electrical  communication  between  the  outlying  districts  and  the  centre 
for  fire  alarm  and  police  service. 

Sidney  H.  Buttrick,  Walter  B.  Ellis.  A.  Wilbur  Lynde,  John 
Singer,  Jr.,  George  T.  Brown,  John  B.  Souther  and  John  P. 
Deering  were  appointed  a  committee  to  investigate  and  report. 
March  26th,  this  committee  reported  and  the  following  vote 
was  passed  : 

That  the  subject  matter  of  this  article  be  referred  to  a  committee  con- 
sisting of  the  board  of  selectmen,  Royal  P.  Barry  and  Sidney  H.  Buttrick, 
who  shall  have  full  power  and  authority  to  purchase  and  cause  to  be 
constructed,  a  fire  alarm  system,  which  in  their  judgment  shall  be 
adequate  to  the  needs  of  the  town,  and  that  the  sum  of  seventeen 
hundred  dollars  be  raised  and  appropriated  for  the  purposes  named. 

This  resulted  in  establishing  the  Gamewell  system  of  fire 
alarm,  which  has  thus  far  proven  very  eilficient  and  satisfactory. 
The  system  now  consists  of  thirty-six  street  boxes,  one  school 
box,  three  tower  strikers,  four  gongs,  three  indicators,  and 
twelve  tappers,  located  in  different  sections  of  the  City. 
About  sixty-five  miles  of  wire  is  required  to  keep  all  this 
various  electrical  apparatus  in  good  working  order.  In  1901^ 
the  gravity  battery  system  then  existing  was  changed  to  the 
present  storage  battery  system. 

In  1890,  a  movement  was  renewed,  which  had  been  previously 
defeated,  to  purchase  a  steam  fire-engine;  and  on  March  24,  it 
was  voted: 

nize    some    of    the    faces ;    among      Laiiman     Green     and     James     G. 
them   George  Washington  Grover,       Emerson. 
Philip     McMann,     Orriu      Brown, 


FIRE 'AND  POLICE  DEPARTMENTS. 


391 


That  the  chairman  of  the  Board  of  Selectmen,  Mr.  Walter  Babb, 
and  the  engineers  of  the  tire  department  be  a  committee  to  purchase  a 
steam  fire-engine  with  necessary  appurtenances,  that  the  sum  of  four 
thousand  five  hundred  dollars  be  appropriated  therefor,  and  that  the 
treasurer  be  authorized  to  pay  for  the  same  out  of  any  funds  now  in 
the  treasury  not  otherwise  appropriated. 

This  committee  purchased  a  Clapp  &  Jones,  No.  3  machine, 
with  a  capacity  of  six  hundred  gallons  per  minute.  The  price 
paid  was  §3,200. 


CENTRAL   FIRE    STATION. ^ 

The  property  of  the  City  for  fire  purposes,  includino-  houses 
and  apparatus,  in  charge  of  the  Fire  Department,  is  as  follows: 
The  Central  Fire  Station,  a  handsome  brick  building,  situated 
on  Main  Street,  just  north  of  the  City  Hall,  was  built  in  1895. 
at  a  cost  of  ^20,000  ;  and  is  furnished  with  all  modern  improve- 

8  This  represents  the  fire  appara-  with  fire  and  steam  ready,  Charles 

tus  leaving  the  station  at  an  alarm  W.  Edwards,  driver;  and  the  Lib- 

of  fire  :  The  wagon.  Dean  T.  Stock-  erty  Bigelow  Hook  and  Ladder  Co., 

well,    driver;    the    engine.    No.    i,  James  Waldo  Emerson,  driver. 


892  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

merits,  making  it  one  of  the  best  equipped  fire  stations  in  the 
Commonwealth. 

It  is  occupied  by  the  Steamer  and  Hose  Co.  No.  i,  Charles 
F.  Woodward,  Captain;  the  Liberty  Bigelow  Hook  and  Lad- 
der Co.,  No.  I,  which  carries  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  of 
ladders  and  appurtenances,  Harry  R.  Norton,  Captain,  and 
the  N.  D.  Blake  Hose  Co.,  No.  2,  Robert  Gibbons,  Captain. 
For  many  years  this  company  occupied  a  room  in  the  Masonic 
Temple  Building,  on  the  corner  of  Main  Street  and  Wyoming 
Avenue  ;  but  in  1901,  that  location  was  discontinued,  and  it  is 
now  housed  in  the  Central  Fire  Station.  For  the  Engine  and 
Hose  Wagon,  four  horses  and  fifteen  men  are  required  ; 
for  the  Hook  and  Ladder  Co.,  three  horses  and  fifteen  men  ; 
and  for  Hose  No.  2,  one  horse  and  eight  men. 

The  Highlands  Hose  Co.,  No.  3,  Frank  H.  Cheever,  Captain, 
occupies  its  station  on  Franklin  Street,  Melrose  Highlands, 
and  requires  one  horse  and  eight  men.  The  William  E.  Barrett 
Hose  Co.,  No.  4,  Charles  E.  McKinnon,  Captain,  occupies  its 
house  on  East  Foster  Street,  and  requires  one  horse  and  eight 
men. 

The  principal  officers  of  the  Fire  Department  as  at  present 
organized,  are  as  follows:  A.  Wilbur  Lynde,  Chief  Engineer; 
Joseph  M.  Holbrook,  Assistant  Engineer  and  Clerk;  and 
William  F.  Simpson,  Assistant  Engineer.  The  amount  appro- 
priated by  the  City  for  the  Fire  Department  for  1902,  was 
^11,500. 

The  Police  Department.  The  Police  Department  of  Mel- 
rose is  composed  of  a  well-organized,  vigilant,  and  efficient 
body  of  men,  under  the  management  of  its  Chief,  Frank  M. 
McLaughlin,  who  has  held  that  position  since  1884.  The 
present  force  is  composed  of  the  following  men:  Permanent 
force;  Frank  M.  McLaughlin,  Chief,  Osborne  E.  Drown,  Wil- 
liam A.  Caswell,  Redford  M.  Rand,  William  C.  McCarthy, 
Louis  B.  Heaton,  George  E.  Fuller,  Harry  Brown,  Allston  H. 
Pineo,  William  H.  Doherty,  Christopher  B.  Thompson,  and 
Frank  N.  Pierce.  Special  officers;  Charles  J.  Wing,  James  H. 
Maine,  John  J.  Hinds,  A.  Wilbur  Lynde,  Edgar  E.  Sherburne, 
Elvin  C.  Slocomb,  Patrick  F.  Murray,  Michael  J.  Hanley, 
Jerome  T.  Smith,  and  Arthur  L.  Brigham.  Constables,  George 
W.  Burke,  William  L.  Pierce,  P^rank  M.  McLaughlin  and 
Osborne  E.  Drown.     Bail  Commissioner,  Sidney  H.  Buttrick. 


FIRE  AND  POLICE  DEPARTMENTS.  393 

There  is  a  State  Police  Association  of  which  our  officers  are 
members;  and  January  12,  1902,  the  Melrose  Police  Associa- 
tion was  organized,  the  object  of  which  is  social  intercourse, 
protection  to  its  members,  and  aid  to  the  sick  and  suffering. 
One  object  this  Association  has  in  view  is  to  raise  a  sufficient 
sum  of  money,  by  ball  and  concert,  with  which  to  buy  a  fully 
ecjuipped  hospital  ambulance,  and  present  the  same  to  the  City 
of  Melrose  for  the  general  use  of  its  citizens,  in  any  and  all 
emergencies. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

CITY  HALL,  CLOCKS  AND  SEALS. 

IN  1873,  the  Town  voted  to  build  a  new  Town  Hall  on  the 
corner  of  Main  and  Essex  Streets,  where  then  stood  the 
residences  of  George  Newhall  and  Mrs.  Mary  Dix,  at  a 
cost  of  593,675  ;  528,675  for  the  land,  44,934  square  feet,  and 
$65,000  for  the  building.  This  was  at  a  time  when  money  bore 
a  high  rate  of  interest,  and  twenty  year  bonds  were  issued  by 
the  Town  for  the  cost  of  the  building,  with  interest,  at  the 
rate  of  seven  per  cent,  per  annum;  at  maturity  $20,000  of  that 
amount  was  paid  and  new  bonds  issued  for  $45,000,  with 
interest  at  the  rate  of  4  per  cent,  per  annum.  These  bonds 
mature  September  i,  1912,  The  building  committee  were  the 
Selectmen,  Daniel  Russell,  John  H.  Clark  and  George  F. 
Stone,  and  George  W.  Heath,  and  Francis  S.  Hesseltine.  The 
Hall  was  not  finished  until  the  following  year,  when  the  formal 
exercises  of  dedication  took  place  June  17,  1874,  when  the 
principal  address  was  made  by  George  F.  Stone,  then  a  resident 
of  our  town,  but  now  Secretary  of  the  Board  of  Trade,. 
Chicago,  111. 

From  the  very  excellent  and  appropriate  address  of  Mr. 
Stone,  it  is  well  to  introduce  here  two  or  three  sentences  : 

As  the  future  historian  may  trace  your  municipal  life  and  set  in 
order  the  steps  of  your  growth,  he  shall  find  in  the  record  certain 
prominent  facts  which  shall  afford  unmistakable  evidence  of  your 
character,  reveal  the  spirit  by  which  you  were  animated  and  which 
was  the  secret  of  your  favorable  development.  Among  the  salient 
points  none  will  stand  out  with  greater  clearness  and  significance  than 
the  accomplishment  of  your  purpose  to  build  this  Hall;  its  direct,  and 
its  indirect  influences,  will  then  be  more  clearly  seen  and  its  import- 
ance be  more  clearly  realized  than  by  the  light  of  this  hour. 

It  will  I  think  then  be  recorded  that  from  this  time  there  seemed  to 
be  a  marked  improvement  in  your  social  and  material  aspect — your 
ambition  was  quickened — your  public  spirit  was  everywhere  apparent, 
and  from  this  time  an  enthusiastic  desire  to  discharge  every  obligation 
of  citizenship  seemed  to  possess  the  inhabitants. 


MKLROSE  CITY  HALIv 


39(3  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

To  fail  to  properly  embrace  this  opportunity,  you  would  retard  our 
growth  and  hinder  our  prosperity.  To  my  mind  it  was  a  critical 
moment  in  our  history  and  committed  this  community  irrevocably  to 
an  enlightened  and  progressive  policy.  Individual  enterprise  and 
stability  of  citizenship  were  trembling  in  the  balance  and  your  saga- 
cious decision  secured  all.  Property  holders  before  desirous  to  sell 
and  others  quite  indifferent  decided  to  hold  and  develope,  private 
interest  and  enterprise  were  infused  with  a  new  zeal,  and  men  at  once 
looked  around  to  discover  how  they  might  bring  under  the  benign 
sway  of  this  assured  policy,  the  natural  advantages  which  an  indulgent 
providence  had  vouchsafed.  It  is  safe  to  afifirm  that  more  plans  for 
the  development  of  your  resources  were  born  in  the  hour  of  }'our  de- 
cision to  build  this  structure,  than  at  any  previous  epoch  in  your 
municipal  life,  not  only  on  account  of  the  work  itself,  but  also  be- 
cause of  the  assurance  thereby  implied,  that  what  you  had  done  should 
be  made  to  confer  its  fullest  and  richest  benefits.  Apathy  was 
changed  into  a  lively  interest,  and  a  passive  policy  into  an  animated 
desire  to  become  what  by  every  consideration  of  situation  and  intel- 
ligence, we  should  be,  practical,  experienced  and  shrewd  men  of  busi- 
ness; the  reflecting  and  educated  citizen  as  well,  quickly  discerned 
the  drift  of  this  measure,  and  our  largest  real  estate  owners,  alert  and 
keen  to  perceive  results,  lent  the  proposition  their  instant  and  liberal 
support.  So  manifest  was  this  step  for  the  general  good  and  so  diffuse 
were  its  effects,  that  all  classes  instantly  caught  its  significance  and 
none  were  more  strenuous  in  its  support  than  the  extremely  prudent 
and  conservative.  .  .  .  Narrow-minded  and  mistaken  is  that  policy, 
Avhich  in  its  zeal  for  small  taxes,  shuts  up  every  avenue  of  improve- 
ment, ignores  the  requirements  of  the  times,  and  so  defeats  and 
frustrates  the  very  object  in  view.  Under  such  a  policy  valuation  is 
kept  down,  population  of  the  desirable  sort  is  reduced  and  excluded, 
and  that  which  is  so  absolutely  essential  to  growth  and  success  is 
crushed  out — viz:  the  spirit  of  enterprise.  .  .  .  We  had  reached  a 
point  in  the  history  of  our  affairs  when  it  was  vital  for  our  best  inter- 
ests to  erect  this  Hall ;  it  was  an  important  link  in  a  chain  of  improve- 
ments, conceived,  it  must  be  admitted,  in  wisdom  and  liberality,  with- 
out which  previous  enteiprise  would  be  deprived  of  its  full  fruits. 
.  .  .  Happily,  fellow  citizens,  your  public  measures  have  been  con- 
trolled by  an  enlightened  purpose,  and  hence  the  prosperity  and 
growth  of  Melrose  is  assured  beyond  the  possibility  of  recall.  .  .  . 
With  these  considerations  we  may  perhaps  arrive  at  some  conception 
of  the  significance  of  this  hour  as  we  dedicate  this  Hall  to  the  sublime 
rights  of  American  citizenship — to  lofty  patriotism — to  courageous  ac- 
tion—  to  sympathetic  endeavor —  to  the  equal  rights  of  all  classes  and 
of  both  sexes^to  an  unsullied  public  morality,  and  to  an  unfaltering 
allegiance  to  Him  who  controls  alike  the  destinies  of  individuals  and 
nations.  .  .  . 


CITY  HALL.   CLOCKS  AND  SEALS.  397 

The  City  Hall  is  a  brick  structure  with  brown-stone  trim- 
mings, of  handsome  architectural  design,  with  a  large  hall  and 
convenient  internal  arrangementsfor  city  purposes.  For  many 
years  the  Melrose  Public  Library  and  Reading  Room  occupied 
two  of  its  rooms  on  the  lower  floor,  and  until  the  Young  Men's 
Christian  Association  erected  its  fine  building  on  Main 
Street,  when  the  Town  leased  the  Library's  present  quarters 
at  an  annual  rental  of  $i,ooo.  The  Melrose  Savings  Bank  also 
occupied  the  southwest  corner  room  on  the  Essex  Street  side 
for  seventeen  years,  when  it  removed  to  its  present  Banking 
Room  in  Newhall's  Block.  No.  541  Main  Street.  Now  all 
the  different  departments  of  the  City  Government  are  accom- 
modated and  have  ofifices  in  the  City  Hall  Building. 

The  clock  which  adorns  the  tower  was  the  gift  of  the  Hon. 
Uaniel  Russell  ;  and  the  vane  was  given  by  the  late  William 
Bailey;  and  the  clock  on  the  front  of  the  gallery  in  the  hall 
was  given  by  John  W.  Farwell. 

The  large  and  handsome  vase,  always  kept  beautiful  with 
flowers,  in  their  season,  standing  on  the  lawn  on  the  Essex 
Street  side  of  the  City  Hall  lot,  was  placed  there  through  the 
kindly  efforts  of  the  Melrose  Improvement  Society,  which 
has  done  in  the  past  so  muCh  in  beautifying  our  city,  in  setting 
out,  caring  for  and  protecting  our  trees,  and  in  freeing  our 
highways  of  rubbish. 

In  1901,  after  a  constant  use  of  twenty-seven  years,  the 
Board  of  Aldermen  appropriated  $5,800  for  much  needed  re- 
pairs; $1,100  for  repairing  and  painting  the  tower  and  other 
outside  woodwork,  and  $4,700  for  the  renovation  of  the  Audi- 
torium and  ante-rooms.  New  floors  were  laid,  ceilings  and 
walls  re-frescoed,  electric  lights  introduced,  the  arch  over  the 
stage  changed  for  the  better,  and  new  settees  provided;  the 
whole  forming  a  much  ne(tded  improvement. 

The  Flag  Staff.  July  4,  1898,  a  very  handsome  flag  staff, 
which  had  been  erected  on  the  corner  of  Main  and  Upham 
Streets,  opposite  City  Hall,  was  dedicated  with  appropriate- 
addresses  by  Sidney  H.  Buttrick.  Chairman  of  the  Board  of 
Selectmen,  George  R.  Jones,  Levi  S.  Gould  and  George  A. 
Smith,  President  of  the  Massachusetts  Senate.  The  pole,  in 
two  parts,  is  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet  high,  surmounted 
with  a  gilt  ball.     P^om  it  a  new   flag  was  flung  to  the  breeze 


398  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Its  cost  was  about  $500,  which  amount  was  raised  largely  by 
the  active  effort  of  William  N.  Mellen. 

Clocks.  The  first  town  clock  was  placed  on  the  tower  of 
the  old  original  Orthodox  Congregational  Church.  It  was 
purchased  by  subscription,  of  Messrs.  Howard  &  Davis,  and 
one  of  the  most  active  of  the  subscribers  was  the  late  William 
Bogle.     The  original  contract^  reads  as  follows: 

This  agreement  made  and  concluded  this  Twenty-fifth  day  of  May, 
A.  D.  eighteen  hundred  and  forty-nine,  by  and  between  David  L. 
Webster,  Jeremiah  Martin,  William  Bogle,  Samuel  E.  Sewall  and 
Benjamin  F.  Abbott,  Trustees  of  the  Melrose  Town  Clock,  of  the  one 
part,  and  Jonathan  Cochran  and  John  Mclntire,  a  Committee  duly 
chosen  by  the  Melrose  Orthodox  Congregational  Society,  to  act  for 
and  in  behalf  of  said  Society,  of  the  other  part,  Witnesseth: 

That  the  said  Trustees,  in  consideration  of  one  dollar  to  them  paid 
by  the  said  Society,  and  of  the  promises  of  said  Society  hereinafter 
mentioned,  promise  and  agree  to  and  with  said  Society,  that  they  will 
place  the  Melrose  Town  Clock  upon  the  Steeple  of  the  Church  be- 
longing to  said  Society,  and  will  continue  the  same  upon  the  said 
Church,  so  long  as  said  Society  shall  keep  the  promises  and  agree- 
ments, hereinafter  mentioned,  on  their  part  to  be  performed  and  kept. 
And  the  said  Society  hereby  promises  and  agrees  to  and  with  the 
said  Trustees,  that  they  may  place  the  said  clock  upon  the  steeple  of 
the  said  Church,  and  that  the  said  clock  shall  be  and  continue  the 
property  of  said  Trustees.  Also  that  they  will  keep  said  clock  in 
good  running  order.  Also  that  they  will  keep  said  clock  insured,  in  a 
sum  not  less  than  three  hundred  dollars,  payable  to  said  Trustees,  in 
such  office  as  they  shall  approve,  also  that  said  Trustees,  their  agent 
or  attorney,  shall  have  the  right  to  enter  said  church,  and  remove  said 
clock  in  case  ot  a  breach  of  any  of  the  above  promises  or  agreements 
on  the  part  of  said  Society,  provided  the  same  shall  not  be  repaired, 
A\ithin  reasonable  time,  after  notice  of  such  breach  shall  have  been 
given  to  any  officer  of  said  Society.  In  witness  whereof  we  have 
hereunto  subscribed  our  names  on  the  day  and  year  above  written. 

JoNA  Cochran. 

John    McIntire. 

William   Bogle. 

Benj.  F.  Abbott. 

This  document  bears  evidence  that  the  name  —  Melrose  — 
had  been  adopted  and  come  into  common  use,  some  time 
before  the  town  was  finally  incorporated,  May  3,  1850. 

1  Given   nie  several  years  ago  by  Mr.  Boj^le. 


CITY  HALL,   CLOCKS  AND  5EALS. 


899 


This  clock  did  duty  until  1858,  when  the  church  was  remod- 
elled and  enlarged.  The  Town  then  bought  a  new  one  of  the 
Turret  and  Marine  Clock  Co.,  at  a  cost  of  $300,  which  was 
placed  upon  the  steeple  under  similar  conditions  as  the  first 
one  had  been,  the  parties  being  the  Town  and  Society  instead 
of  the  former  Trustees.  After  a  period  of  ten  years'  service, 
this  clock  was  destroyed  when  the  church  edifice  was  burned, 
February  17,  1869. 

The  third  clock  was  bought  by  the  Town,  April  ii,  1870, 
when  S550  was  appropriated  for  a  Howard  clock  to  be  placed 
on  the  steeple  of  the  new  Melrose  Orthodox  Congregational 
Church,  providing  that  the  Society  will  agree  to  take  care  of 
the  same  free  of  expense  to  the  town.  The  proviso  was  agreed 
to  at  a  legal  meeting  of  that  Society  held  in  Lyceum  Hall, 
April  14,  1870;  and  the  clock  was  purchased  by  the  Town, 
placed  thereon,  and  has  since  been  kept  in  good  running  order. 

In  1874  the  town  was  favored  with  another  Howard  clock, 
which  was  placed  on  the  tower  of  the  new  Town  Hall,  by  the 
generosity  of  the  Hon.  Daniel  Russell.  In  this  tower  the 
Town  placed  a  large  and  sweet-toned  bell;  and  as  this  clock 
keeps  most  excellent  time,  we  are  constantly  reminded  by  its 
striking  that 

"Time  aud  the  hour  runs  through  the  roughest  day." 

Seals.  At  a  Town  Meeting  held  March  6,  1882,  it  was 
voted:  "That  Mr.  Thomas  G.  Fielding,  Rev.  Albert  G.  Hale, 
Alonzo  G.  Whitman,  William  Bogle  and  Elbridge  H.  Goss,  be 
a  committee  to  consider  the 
matter  of  providing  a  design  for 
a  Town  Seal."  On  November 
15,  the  Committee  reported  in 
favor  of  a  seal  which  was  de- 
signed by  Mr.  Fielding,  one 
of  the  committee,  which  was 
adopted  by  the  Town.  Mr. 
Fielding  not  only  designed  it, 
but  he  had  one  made  ready  for 
use,  and  presented  it  to  the 
Town;  for  which  he  received  a 
unanimous  vote  of  thanks. 


400 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Its  symbolism  is  explained  by  Mr.  Fielding  as  follows: 

The  roses  of  New  England  and  the  thistles  of  Scotland,  in  an 
elaborated  circle,  is  significant  of  strength  and  union,  as  in  the  motto 
of  the  United  States,  —  "  E pluribus  iinum,''''  —  one  formed  from  many 
parts.  The  male  and  female  figures,  with  bee  hive  between,  typify  an 
industrious  people.  The  hat  in  hand,  true  politeness  and  civilization. 
Rose  and  book,  purity  of  thought  and  cultivation  of  intellect.  The 
motto,  "  Pons  et  origo,''''  indicates  that  the  Abbey  of  the  Scottish 
Melrose  is  the  source  and  origin  of  the  Town's  name.  The  clasped 
hands,  within  the  date  of  incorporation,  signify  that  the  citizens  of 
Melrose  always  give  the  grip  of  a  true  and  friendly  welcome.  The  all 
seeing  eye  is  the  industrious  man's  Overseer,  and  the  rays  of  light 
emanating  therefrom  symbolize  His  approval  when  the  labor  is  over 
and  the  work  well  done. 

After  using  this  seal  for  a  dozen  years,  and  dissatisfaction 
with  its  design  having  been  expressed,  a  committee  on  a  "  New 
Town  Seal"  was  appointed  March  26,  1894,  consisting  of  Levi 
S.  Gould,  Edward  K.  Bordman,  George  Newhall,  Rev.  Albert 
G.  Bale,  and  Elbridge  H.  Goss.  That  committee  reported  a 
design,  which  was  unique,  and  of  a  local  and  historical  charac- 
ter; but  for  some  reason,  the  Town  did  not  adopt  it.  It 
embodied  the  date  our  territory  was  first  explored,  1628,  the 
fact  that  it  was  originally  a  part  of  Charlestown,  1629,  that  the 
name  it  was  first  known  by,  "  Pond  Feilde,"  which  was  given 
it  as  early  as  1638,  as  duly  recorded  in  the  C/iarlestozvii  Book  of 
Possessions,  that  after  Maiden  was  incorporated  in  1649,  '^  was 
known  as  Maiden  North  End,  and  that  it  was  incorporated  as 
Melrose,  in  1850.     It  had  a  view  of  Ell  Pond  in  its  centre. 

At  a  Town  Meeting  held 
April  II,  1898,  the  following 
vote  was  passed: 

That  the  Moderator  be  author- 
ized to  fill  all  vacancies  on  the 
Committee  for  a  Town  Seal,  and 
that  the  same  report  at  a  meeting 
this  year. 

As  Rev.  Albert  G.  Bale  of 
that  Committee  had  removed 
from  town,  Charles  H.  Adams 
was  appointed  in  his  place 
and  at  a  meeting  held  August  i,  Mr.  Adams,  in  behalf  of  the 


CITY  HALL,   CLOCKS  AND  SEALS. 


401 


committee  reported  a  desit^n  for  a  seal,  which  did  not  differ 
very  materially  from  the  one  above  described,  except  that  the 
view  of  the  pond  was  left  out  of  its  centre:  and  the  followinj^- 
vote  was  passed: 

That  the  report  of  the  committee  on  town 
seal  be  accepted  and  adopted,  and  that  the 
town  clerk  be  authorized  to  procure  the  seal. 
That  the  same  be  hereafter  used  upon  doc- 
uments and  papers  requiring  the  use  of  a  seal. 

When  the  Board  of  Water  Commis- 
sioners was  ori^anized  a  seal  was  made 
and  used  by  them  on  the  first  and  second 
series  of  water  bonds  issued.  This  was 
from  a  design  suggested  by  the  late  Hon. 
Samuel  E.  Sewall. 

The  change  from  town  to 
city  necessitated  a  change 
in  the  of^cial  seal;  and  this 
was  authorized  by  the  Board 
of  Aldermen,  January  24, 
1900.  The  inscription  of  the 
new  embodied  the  historic 
points  of  the  old,  with  an 
additional  ring,  in  which  the 
words  "City  of  Melrose,  In- 
corporated 1900,"  were  in- 
serted. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

VARIOUS  INSTITUTIONS. 

THE  Melrose  Savings  Bank.  This  Bank  was  chartered  in 
1872,  but  owing  to  the  great  fire  which  took  place  in 
Boston,  November  9,  10,  of  that  year  it  was  not  organized 
for  business  until  October  i,  1874.  As  has  been  the  town's 
'growth  year  by  year,  constantly  increasing  in  population,  so 
has  it  been  with  the  increase  of  the  deposits  in  this  Bank, 
from  the  ^17,246.05  which  it  had  at  the  end  of  the  first  year 
until  the  present  time,  July  i,  1902,  when  the  total  amount  of 
deposits  is  ^1,020,469.94;  and  a  guaranty  fund  and  interest 
account  of   1^64,164.59.     The  present  number  of  depositors  is 

4,741- 

Its  first  President  was  Wingate  P.  Sargent,  who  served  until 
1878,  when,  going  to  California  for  a  few  years,  he  resigned  and 
was  succeeded  by  the  present  President,  Daniel  Russell.  Its 
first  Treasurer  was  George  A.  Mansfield,  who  served  until 
October  i,  1875,  when  he  was  succeeded  by  the  present  Treas- 
urer, Elbridge  H.  Goss. 

For  the  first  few  years  the  Bank  paid  its  depositors  six  per 
centum  per  annum;  then  for  a  short  time  five  per  cent.;  then 
until  July  i,  1899,  four  per  cent.;  from  January  i,  1900,  to 
January  i,  1901,  three  and  one-half  per  cent.;  and  the  last  four 
dividends  at  the  rate  of  three  per  cent. 

For  a  number  of  years  the  banking  room  was  in  the  Town 
Hall.     It  is  now  in  the  Newhall   Block,  No.  541    Main  Street. 

The  present  ofificers  are:  Daniel  Russell,  President;  Moses 
S.  Page,  Vice  President;  John  Larrabee,  Clerk;  P^lbridge  H. 
Goss,  Treasurer;  these  four  with  George  Hart,  Seth  E.  Benson, 
Royal  P.  Barry,  William  E.  Barrett,  John  W.  Farwell,  George 
R.  Jones,  Charles  H.  Adams,  Decius  Beebe  and  Charles  C. 
Harry,  form  the  Board  of  Trustees.  Finance  Committee, 
Moses  S.  Page,  John  W.  Farwell  and  Charles  H.  Adams. 
Auditors,  John  Larrabee  and  Walter  I.  Nickerson. 


VARIOUS  INSTITUTIONS.  403 

The  Melrose  National  Bank.  This  was  chartered  July  i, 
1892,  with  a  capital  of  Sioo.ooo.  The  Bank  opened  for  busi- 
ness July  ii,  1892,  with  Decius  Beebe  as  President  and  John 
Larrabee,  Cashier.  August  i,  1893,  Mr.  Larrabee  resigned 
and  Walter  I.  Nickerson,  the  present  Cashier  was  elected  to 
that  office.  Miss  Annie  R.  Blanchard  has  been  the  Teller 
from  the  date  of  its  organization.  The  Bank  has  paid  sixteen 
semi-annual  dividends,  the  first  being  July  i,  1895,  ■^^^  ^'^  but 
one  of  which  have  been  at  the  rate  of  five  per  centum  per 
annum;  the  exception  being  four  per  cent.  It  has  enjoyed  a 
very  prosperous  business  for  ten  )ears  and  now  has  a  surplus 
and  undivided  profits  amounting  to  $50,710. 

The  present  Board  of  Directors  are:  Decius  Beebe,  Presi- 
dent; Seth  E.  Benson,  Vice  President;  John  Larrabee,  John 
P.  Deering,  Frank  Q.  Brown,  Royal  P.  Barry,  J.  Augustus 
Barrett,  Frank  L.  Washburn,  Levi  .S.  Gould,  James  Mclntyre, 
Charles  H.  Lang,  Jr.,  Walter  H.  Roberts,  John  W.  Farwell, 
John  W.  Robson  and  Joseph  Remick,  Directors. 

The  Bank  has  fine  quarters  in  the  V.  M.  C.  A.  Building  on 
Main  Street. 

The  Melrose  Co-operative  Bank  was  chartered  April  4, 
1890,  and  commenced  business  April  20,  same  year.  It  has  an 
authorized  capital  of  ;gi,ooo,ooo.  Its  present  officers  are:  Levi 
S.  Gould,  President;  Jabez  S.  Dyer,  Vice  President;  John  P. 
Deering,  Treasurer;  Charles  G.  Schaedel,  Secretary;  Seth  E. 
Benson,  Aubrey  W.  Dunton,  Horace  ¥..  Child,  George  M. 
Gray.  Stephen  A.  Lovejoy,  Frank  K.  Upham  and  Julian  C. 
Woodman,  Directors;  Charles  A.  Messenger,  Harry  W. 
Knights  and  John  C.  Crolly,  Auditors. 

At  the  twelfth  annual  meeting  held  April  11,  1902,3  semi- 
annual dividend  oi  2%  per  cent,  was  declared. 

Loans  are  made  on  first  mortgages  on  real  estate,  the  idea 
of  co-operative  banks  being  primarily  to  aid  people  in  secur- 
ing and  owning  homes,  and  money  is  advanced  in  instalments 
to  build,  when  desired.  Loans  are  payable  in  monthly  instal- 
ments, the  monthly  payment  on  a  $1,000  loan  being  about  $\o. 
h>ach  shareholder  may  have  from  one  to  twenty-five  shares, 
the  shares  being  Si  each  per  month,  or  nominally  $200  each, 
Si  being  deposited  upon  c-ach  share,  until  with  the  earnings 
it  amounts  to  $200,  when  it  is  paid  in  cash. 


404  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Post  Offices.  Before  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad  was 
opened,  in  1845,  the  citizens  of  North  Maiden  had  to  go  to 
Maiden  Centre  for  all  their  mail  privileges.  Soon  after  this 
event  a  change  took  place,  and  a  Post  Master  was  appointed 
for  the  North  Maiden  district  in  1846.  The  first  Post  Master 
was  George  W.  Barrett,  who  was  also  the  first  depot  master. 
The  Post  Office  was  in  the  railroad  station.  The  next  Post- 
Master  was  Hiram  Whitney,  who  established  the  office  in  his 
grocery  store,  which  was  then  in  the  block  formerly  standing 
where  Benson's  Block  now  is,  and  which  was  afterwards 
burned.  His  successor  was  Francis  Bugbee,  and  the  office  was 
then  removed  to  his  store,  which  stood  where  nowjis  situated 
the  Bugbee  &  Barrett  Block,  corner  Main  and  West  Foster 
Streets.  Henry  A.  Norris  was  his  successor  and  the  office  was 
then  removed  to  the  old  Lyceum  Hall  building,  upstairs. 

The  next  incumbent  was  Caleb  Howard,  who  established  the 
office  on  Essex  Street.  At  his  death.  Miss  Mary  E.  Eastman, 
his  assistant,  was  appointed  to  the  office.  This  was  in  1869. 
Miss  Eastman  died  in  1871,  and  her  mother,  Mrs.  Susan  E. 
Eastman  was  appointed  in  her  place.  She  built  the  building 
No.  39  Essex  Street,  prepared  it  for  a  post  office,  and  here  it 
remained  for  many  years.  In  October,  1885,  Mrs.  Eastman 
was  superceded  by  William  L.  Williams,  who  was  appointed 
Post  Master  by  President  Cleveland.  After  the  death  of  Mr. 
Williams  in  1888,  Charles  W.  Ellison  was  appointed  his  suc- 
cessor. During  his  administration  the  system  of  letter  carriers 
was  introduced  for  mail  delivery.  Mr.  Ellison  retained  the 
office  until  May  i,  1897,  when  be  was  removed,  and  the  present 
incumbent,  Alfred  Hocking,  was  appointed  by  President 
William  McKinley.  His  commission  is  dated  April  17,  1897, 
but  he  did  not  assume  the  duties  of  the  office  until  May  i.  At 
the  end  of  his  term  he  was  reappointed,  in  1901,  for  four  years. 

The  office  remained  on"]  Essex  Street  until  the  Barrel  I  & 
Swett  Block  was  built  on  Main  Street,  in  1893.  There  it  re- 
mained until  the  1st  of  September,  1901,  when  it  was  removed 
to  the  Barrett  Block,  next  adjoining,  which  is  much  better 
adapted  for  the  proper  mail  facilities  of  a  growing  city.  The 
owner,  J.  Augustus  Barrett,  piepared  this  new  office  in  a  most 
complete  and  thorough  manner.  Its  appointments  for  the 
Post  Master  and  his  assistants,  and  for  the  letter  carriers  are  of 
first-class  order,  and  every  con\'enience  for  the  accommodation 


VARIOUS  INSTITUTIONS.  405 

■of  the  public  has  been  made;  and  the  U.  S.  Government  has 
entered  into  a  ten  years'  lease  of  these  new  quarters. 

In  1874,  a  Post  Office  was  established  at  the  Melrose  High- 
lands, and  John  Singer,  Jr.,  was  appointed  Post  Master.  It  was 
established  in  his  building  on  P'ranklin  Street,  where  it 
remained  until  October  25,  1897,  when  it  was  made  a  Station, 
and  W.  F.  Schooff  was  ap[)ointed  clerk-in-charge.  April  i, 
1898,  the  Melrose  Highlands  Station,  with  free  delivery,  was 
•established,  and  Mrs.  Lillian  D.  PMmunds  was  appointed  clerk- 
in-charge.     The  office  is  now  in  Rogers'  Block,  Franklin  Street. 

In  1885,  a  Post  Office  was  established  at  the  Fells,  with 
Charles  H.  Ormsby  as  Post  Master,  with  headquarters  in 
the  Fells  Railroad  Station.  September  15,  1902,  a  change  was 
made  and  the  office  was  established  as  Station  No.  2,  with  G. 
Stanley  Brown,  clerk-in-charge.  It  is  situated  on  the  corner 
of  Goodyear  Avenue  and   Main  Street. 

April  1,  1901,  Station  No.  i  was  established  in  the  Crescent 
Pharmacy  Drug  Store,  on  the  corner  of  Wyoming  Avenue  and 
Hurd  Street,  William  S.  Briry  in  charge.  The  free  delivery 
system  has  now  been  established  throughout  our  entire  City. 

Street  Railroads.  P'or  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  only 
street  railroad  cars  running  in  Melrose,  was  the  line  built  by 
the  Stoneham  Street  Railroad  Company  from  the  Highlands 
Station,  more  often  in  those  days  called  the  Stoneham  Station, 
to  the  Stoneham  village,  which  went  into  operation  about 
October  i,  i860. 

In  1886,  the  Selectmen  voted  to  allow  the  compan)',  then 
known  as  the  East  Middlesex  Street  Railway  Company,  to 
<'xtend  their  rails  from  the  Station  through  Franklin,  Green 
ai-.d  Main  Streets,  to  the  Maiden  line;  and  the  first  horse  car 
was  run  over  the  track  October  3,  1887.  At  the  same  time 
permission  was  giv.en  to  lay  spur  tracks  from  the  corner  of 
Main  and  Franklin  Streets  to  the  Wakefield  line,  and  through 
Howard  Street  to  the  Saugus  line.  This  was  found  to  be  a 
very  great  public  convenience,  well  appreciated  and  patronized. 
A  few  years  later,  the  privilege  of  erecting  poles  for  the  sup- 
port of  the  overhead  trolley-system  having  been  granted  by 
the  Selectmen,  the  road  was  electrically  equipped  from 
Melrose  to  Woburn  on  July  24,  1892;  and  from  Melrose  to 
Chelsea  during  the  season  of   1893-94.     At  this  time  a  double 


406  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

track  was  laid  from  Mt.  Vernon  Street  to  Maiden  line,  thus 
connecting  with  the  double  line  through  Maiden. 

May  I,  1893  the  East  Middlesex  Street  Railway  Company 
was  leased  to  the  Lynn  and  Boston  Railway  Company,  which 
originally  ran  its  cars  between  Lynn  and  Boston  only;  but 
which  became  a  great  system,  branching  out  in  various  direc- 
tions. In  i8q6  this  company  built  a  loop-road  known  as  the 
East  Side  line.  It  runs  from  the  Wyoming  Depot  through 
Berwick,  Grove  .Sixth,  Laurel,  Waverley  Avenue,  Upham,  East^ 
Porter,  Main  to  City  Hall,  and  Essex  Streets  to  the  Centre 
Station,  Melrose. 

In  1897,  the  Selectmen  granted  permission  for  this  company 
to  lay  a  double  track  through  Main  Street,  from  Porter  Street 
to  Maiden  line  near  Island  Hill,  thus  making  the  double  track 
continuous  from  Porter  Street  Melrose,  to  Chelsea.  From 
this  point.  Porter  Street,  the  single  track  extended  through 
Green  Street  to  Main  Street,  at  P'ranklin  Square,  at  the 
junction  of  Green,  Franklin  and  Main  Streets.  Since  then 
a  track  has  been  laid  from  this  Square  through  Main  Street  ta 
Porter  Street,  thus  completing  by  this  circuit  a  double  track 
from  Franklin  Square  to  Chelsea. 

A  few  years  since  the  whole  system  came  under  the  control 
of  a  Philadelphia  syndicate.  On  the  22nd  of  July,  1901,  the 
Lynn  and  Boston  Railway  Company  had  spread  its  branches 
in  so  many  directions  that  the  old  name  was  given  up;  and  it 
became  the  Boston  and  Northern  Railway  Company;  a  change 
in  name  only,  officers  and  employees  remaining  the  same. 

There  are  now  on  the  territory  of  Melrose,  railroad  tracks,, 
steam  and  electric,  as  follows:  1.486  miles  electric  car  lines, 
double  track;  5.814  miles  electric  car  lines,  single  track;  0.102 
miles  turnouts;  2,201  miles  steam  railroad,  double  track;  5 
grade  crossings. 

During  the  year  1901,  an  agreement  was  made  between  the 
Boston  Elevated  Railway  Company,  and  the  Lynn  and  Boston 
Street  Railway  Company — now  the  Boston  and  Northern — 
which  has  resulted  in  the  long  talked  of,  and  much  desired 
five-cent  fare  to  Boston.  The  Elevated  was  allowed  to  lay  an 
additional  track  in  Maiden,  through  Salem  Street,  from  P'erry 
Street  to  Maplewood  Square;  thence  a  single  track  through 
Lebanon  Street  to  the  Melrose  line;  and  the  Boston  and 
Northern    is  to   be   allowed   to  run    its  cars  over  the  tracks  of 


VARIOUS  INSTITUTIONS.  407 

the  Elevated  from  Causeway  Street  through  the  Subway  to 
Scollay  Square.  This  new  arrangement  went  into  effect 
August  17,  1901.  For  years  past  it  has  cost  our  citizens  ten 
cents  to  go  to  Boston  on  the  electrics  changing  cars  at  Maiden; 
now  they  can  go  from  Stoneham  line  to  Scollay  Square, 
Boston,  for  five  cents,  and  without  change  of  car. 

Petitions  have  been  circulated  and  freely  signed,  asking  the 
Elevated  to  extend  its  tracks  from  Melrose  line  through 
Lebanon  Street  to  the  junction  of  Main  and  Porter  Streets, 
w  hich  will   probably  be  done  in  the  near  future. 

The  Telegraph.  On  May  11,  1858,  the  Atlantic  Telegraph 
Company  was  granted  the  privilege  of  erecting  their  poles  and 
construct  lines  through  our  Town.  That  Company  was  after- 
wards absorbed  by  the  present  Western  Union. 

The  Telephone.  In  January,  1893,  the  New  England  Tele- 
phone and  Telegraph  Co.  established  an  exchange  headquarters 
at  No.  514  Main  Street,  for  Melrose  patrons.  For  some  time 
previous  to  that  date  Melrose  subscribers  had  their  service 
rendered  through  the  Maiden  exchange. 

Street  Lights.  Gas  was  introduced  into  Melrose  in  i860, 
by  the  Maiden  and  Melrose  Gas  Light  Company;^  and  in 
1864  it  was  used  for  street  lighting  purposes,  to  a  limited 
degree.  This  was  continued  for  a  number  of  years,  the  number 
of  lights  being  increased  gradually.  A  change  was  made  in 
1873,  and  the  street  lights  were  furnished  by  the  New  England 
Gas  Company,  which  was  succeeded  the  next  year  by  the 
Globe  Gas  Light  Company,  of  Boston,  which  continued  until 
1884,  when  a  portion  of  the  street  lighting  was  done  by  the 
Wheeler  Reflector  Company,  with  kerosene  lamps,  and  a  part 
by  the  Maiden  and  Melrose  Gas  Light  Company.  In  1885,  it 
was  all  furnished  by  the  last  two  companies.  This  continued 
until  1887,  when  a  contract  was  made  with  the  Maiden  Electric 

*  The  Maiden  and  Melrose  Gas  O.  Dearborn  of  Melrose.  Our  rep- 
Light  Company  was  incorporated  resentative  on  the  present  board  of 
in  1854.  Its  capital  stock  was  then  directors  is  Seth  K.  Benson.  The 
jf50,ooo,  and  price  of  gas  was  $5  company  has  over  one  hundred 
per  thousand  feet.  It  is  now  miles  of  gas  main,  and  supplies  the 
1300,000,  and  the  price  is  now  I1.30  cities  of  Maiden,  Melrose,  Medford 
net.  Among  the  early  directors  were  and  Everett. 
Hon.  Daniel  W.  Gooch  and  Samuel 


408  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Light  Company,  at  first  for  14  arc  lights  only;''^  the  next  year 
these  arc  lights  were  increased  in  number,  and  40  incandescent 
lights  added;  at  the  same  time  the  Wheeler  Reflector  Com- 
pany furnished  151  kerosene  lights.  In  1892  the  oil  lamps 
were  abandoned  and  the  town  was  lighted  wholly  by  electricity 
by  the  Maiden  Company,  with  thirty  arc  lights  of  1,200  candle 
power,  and  280  incandescent  lights.  This  number  of  lights 
was  gradually  increased  until  IQ02,  when  the  number  was  fifty- 
two  arc  lamps  of  2,000  candle  power,  and  523  incandescent 
lamps,  of  twenty-five  candle  power,  at  a  cost  for  the  year  1901. 
of  Si  1,966.09.  For  1902  a  new  contract  was  made  with  the 
same  company  for  fifty-two  arc  lamps  at  1^75  each  per  month,, 
and  544  incandescent  lamps  at  ;^I5.50  each  per  montii. 

Electric  Light  Plant.  At  the  Town  Meeting  held  March 
3,  1890,  the  matter  of  establishing  an  electric  light  plant  was- 
debated  at  length,  and  resulted  in  the  appointment  of  the 
following  committee  to  take  the  subject  into  consideration  and 
report  at  some  future  meeting:  Charles  H.  Lang,  Jr.,  William 
A.  Smith,  George  R.  Jones,  William  E.  Barrett  and  George  T. 
Brown.  Afterwards  Mr.  Smith  resigned  and  Levi  S.  Gould 
and  Walter  H.  Roberts  were  added. 

In  1891,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  conferring  upon  towns 
and  cities  authority  to  manufacture  and  distribute  gas  and 
electricit)',  and  June  22,  1891,  the  Town  voted  to  accept  the 
same.  February  15,  1892,  the  committee  made  an  exhaustive 
report  in  a  printed  pamphlet  which  was  circulated  throughout 
the  town;  and  at  a  meeting  held  March  21,  1892,  it  was  neces- 
sary to  pass  another  vote  similar  to  that  of  June  22,  1891,  but 
by  use  of  the  check  list,  which  resulted  as  follows:  Yeas  165, 
Nays  26.  This  being  more  than  two-thirds  of  the  votes  cast» 
accepted  the  provisions  of  the  act,  and  gave  the  necessary 
authority  to  vote  an  appropriation  for  the  establishment  of  an 

"^  The  initiatory  action  for  light-  That  the  sum  of  thirty-five  hundred 
ing  the  streets  by  electricity  was  dollars  be  raised  and  appropriated 
taken  at  a  Town  Meeting  held  for  lighting  the  streets  of  the  town, 
March  7,  1887,  when  a  committee  and  that  the  [selectmen  be  author- 
consisting  of  George  L.  Austin  and  ized  to  expend  so  much  of  said 
Julius  vS.  Clark  was  appointed  to  sum  as  will  be  necessar}-  to  main- 
report  on  the  matter,  which  they  tain  not  less  than  fourteen  electric 
did  April  4,  when  it  was  voted:  "To  lights  in  such  localities  as  may  in 
adopt  the  recommendation  of  the  their  judgment  best  subserve  the 
committee    in     their     report,     viz:  public  interest." 


VARIOUS  INSTITUTIONS.  409 

• 

electric  plant;  but  the  motion  submitted  at  the  same  meeting 
to  authorize  the  issuance  of  bonds  to  the  amount  of  $75,000  for 
the  purpose  of  establishing  this  plant,  did  not  receive  the 
necessary  two-thirds  vote,  viz:  Yeas  152,  Nays  82.     Total,  234. 

Pounds — Field  Drivers — Fence  Viewers.  One  of  the 
old  Colonial  laws,  enacted  by  the  General  Court  in  1645, 
established  the  Town  Pound:  "For  prevention  and  due  recom- 
pense of  damages  in  Corn  fields  and  other  inclosures  done  by 
Swine  and  Cattle."  P^rom  that  day  to  this  the  institution  has 
been  maintained  in  Massachusetts;  and  Chapter  36,  consisting 
of  41  sections  of  the  Public  Statutes,  makes  it  imperative  upon 
each  Town  and  City  to  maintain  a  Pound,  and  appoint  annually 
a  Pound-keeper,  P'ield-drivers  and  P'cnce-viewers. 

For  a  year  or  two  in  the  early  days  of  our  incorporation, 
our  Town  existed  without  a  Pound,  but  soon  found  it  necessary 
to  have  one,  as  less  care  was  taken  of  animals  then  than  now. 
At  a  meeting  held  March  i,  1852,  it  was  voted: 

That  the  Barn  Yard  of  George  Emerson  be  adopted  and  used  as  a 
Pound  for  the  year  ensuing,  he  having  consented  to  have  it  so  used. 

Mr.  Emerson  then  lived  on  Main  Street,  on  the  border  of 
Ell  Pond.  William  Newhall  was  appointed  the  first  Pound 
Keeper. 

April  3,  1854,  it  was  voted  to  build  a  Pound  behind  the  En- 
gine House  then  standing  on  Main  Street,  on  land  adjoining  the 
Village  Cemetery,  afterwards  moved  a  few  rods  nearer  the  First 
Baptist  Church;  nearby  stood  the  hearse  house.  The  amount 
appropriated  for  this  purpose  was  S40;  but  it  was  built  by  J. 
V.  Corson  for  $27.  The  Committee,  George  Emerson,  John 
Hlake  and  James  M.  Thresher,  then  the  Selectmen,  received 
$1  each  for  their  services. 

Here  the  Pound  remained  until  the  new  Central  Fire  Station 
was  built,  when,  in  1898,  the  Engine  House  and  Pound  were 
sold  and  moved  away;  and  the  Pound,  although  now  practical- 
ly of  but  little  use,  was  established  at  the  Pratt  Farm,  and 
Arthur  J.  Honett  was  appointed  Pound  Keeper.  The  other 
predecessors  were  Jk-njamin  R.  Upham,  William  Pierce,  Thomas 
McCoubry,  D.  H.  Walker,  Henry  G.  Fields,  Samuel  L.  Walton, 
W.  Truman  Howard,  Joseph  Pklwards  and  Joseph  Tyzzer. 
The  present  I'ound  Keeper  is  Herbert  W.  Chandler,  whose 
wife,  Christie  L.  Chandler,  is  matron  of  the   Pratt   Poor  Farm. 


410  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Stone  Crushers.  At  Town  Meetings  held  June  2  and 
September  15,  1890,  the  Selectmen  were  authorized  to  buy  the 
lot  of  ledge  land  on  Maple  Street,  near  the  corner  of  Vinton,  a 
short  distance  west  of  where  once  stood  the  "  Mountain 
House"  for  a  stone-crushing  plant,  and  $4,850  was  appropri- 
ated for  the  same;  and  in  due  time  the  crusher  was  established 
and  large  quantities  of  rock  crushed  for  street  purposes. 

This  locality  proved  to  be  a  very  unsatisfactory  one  to  the 
surrounding  inhabitants,  and  after  many  and  continued  com- 
plaints it  was  voted  to  remove  the  same;  and  in  March,  1896, 
a  committee  consisting  of  Moses  S.  Page,  Nathan  D.  Blake 
and  L.  Frank  Hinckley  was  appointed  to  investigate  and  re- 
port concerning  a  new  plant,  which  they  did  April  7.  This 
led  to  the  appointment  of  a  special  committee  of  three,  John 
P.  Deering,  Jonathan  C.  Howes  and  Charles  W.  Cook,  to  in- 
vestigate still  further  and  report  at  a  subsequent  Town  Meet- 
ing. This  committee  reported  and  the  matter  was  referred  to 
the  annual  Town  Meeting  in  March,  1897.  -^^  this  meeting, 
March  15,  the  Selectmen  were  empowered  to  purchase  land 
for  a  new  stone  crushing  plant  at  the  corner  of  Linwood 
Avenue  and  Sylvan  Street,  near  the  Wyoming  Cemetery,  at  a 
cost  of  ;g8,ooo;  and  it  was  voted  that  the  old  plant  on  Maple 
Street  be  discontinued. 

This  new  locality  proved  to  be  an  ideal  one  for  the  purpose; 
remote  from  the  residential  portion  of  the  city,  and  with  an 
abundance  of  rock  for  crushing  purposes  for  many  years  to 
come.  Thus  was  recognized,  by  the  removal  of  the  noisy 
crusher,  the  complaints  of  the  living;  caring  less,  apparently,. 
for  the  slumbers  of  the  neighboring  dead! 

Drinking  Fountains.  Besides  the  two  ornamental  fountains 
spoken  of  under  the  head  of  Parks  and  Boulevards,  the  Town 
maintains  four  public  Drinking  Fountains,  for  the  benefit  of 
man  and  beast;  one  at  Wyoming,  at  the  corner  of  Wyoming- 
Avenue  and  Hurd  Street,  one  at  the  corner  of  Main  and 
Upham  Streets  —  a  large  stone  one,  duly  inscribed,  "  Erected 
y\.  D.  1884" — one  at  the  corner  of  Tremont  and  West  Emerson 
Streets,  and  one  on  Franklin  Street,  near  Tremont  Street.  The 
new  one  given  by  the  W.  C.  T.  U.  is  spoken  of  elsewhere. 


CHAPTER  XXVI. 

CHARITABLE  AND  IMPROVEMENT  ASSOCIATIONS. 


T 


HE  Melrose  Charitable  Association.  This  Associa- 
tion was  formed  in  i88o.  Its  purpose,  as  stated  in 
Article  II  of  its  constitution  was  as  follows: 


The  object  shall  be  to  inquire  into  all  cases  of  want  or  suffering- 
that  may  be  brought  to  its  notice,  and  to  furnish  such  relief  as  is 
required  in  the  opinion  of  its  proper  officers.  To  aid  in  obtaining 
employment,  and  to  improve  the  condition  of  all  destitute  persons,  in 
such  ways  as  may  seem  best  in  its  judgment. 

The  Town  was  divided  into  nine  districts,  and  a  director  and 
an  associate  visiting  committee  appointed  for  each.  Its  first 
board  of  officers  were:  President,  Daniel  W.  Gooch;  Vice 
President,  George  Emerson;  Treasurer,  William  F.  Conant; 
Secretary,  H,  A.  Staples;  Assistant  Secretary,  Bessie  B.  Dear- 
born, and  a  board  of  managers,  consisting  of  eight  additional 
members.  The  membership  fee  was  one  dollar  per  annum. 
This  Association  continued  its  good  work  for  several  years. 
It  has  been  succeeded  by 

The  Melrose  Board  of  Associated  Charities,  which  was 
incorporated  in  1894.  This  Society  has  continued  to  aid  the 
destitute  and  suffering  in  the  same  manner  as  its  predecessor; 
its  object  being,  as  stated  in  Article  II  of  its  By-Laws: 

To  relieve  and  prevent  destitution,  by  rendering  prompt,  efficient 
and  judicious  aid  to  the  deserving,  necessitous  poor  of  Melrose  ;  and 
to  encourage  thrift,  by  endeavoring  to  cultivate  the  self-respect  and 
self-reliance  of  those  to  whom  aid  is  rendered. 

Its  first  officers  were  as  follows:  Curtis  C.  Goss,  President; 
Daniel  Russell  and  Franklin  P.  Shumway,  Vice  Presidents; 
Charles  S.  Allen,  Secretary;  L.  Frank  Hinckley,  Treasurer. 
VViih  the  exception  of  Secretary,  Miss  Anna  J.  Perry  having 
served  a  portion    of   the  time  instead  of  Mr.  Allen,  they  re- 


412  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

mained  the  same  until  the  annual  meeting  of  October,  1898, 
when  the  following  changes  were  made:  Sidney  H.  Buttrick, 
President;  Mrs.  Lafayette  Burr,  Secretary,  and  Oscar  F.  ?>ost, 
Treasurer.  There  is  also  a  Board  of  eighteen  Directors,  and  a 
Visiting  Committee,  consisting  of  seventeen  members.  During 
these  twenty-two  years  these  two  Societies  have  been  the  means 
of  doing  an  immense  amount  of  good;  of  accomplishing  a 
most  important  and  benevolent  work.  Many  a  case  of  desti- 
tution has  been  relieved;  many  cases  of  suffering,  unknown  to 
the  public,  aided  and  helped  over  hard  places;  money  aid 
given;  barrels  of  clothing  and  supplies  distributed.  As  the 
the  City  grows,  there  is,  and  will  continue  to  be  the  same 
field  for  beneficent  usefulness.  Each  Thanksgiving  Day,  a 
contribution  is  taken  for  the  benefit  of  this  Association,  at  the 
Union  services. 

Melrose  Improvement  Society.  This  Association  was 
formed  in  1881.  Its  first  general  officers  were  as  follows: 
Hon.  Daniel  W.  Gooch,  President;  Hon.  Samuel  E.  Sewall,  Hon. 
Daniel  Russell,  Col.  Francis  S.  Hesseltine,  Frank  A.  Messenger, 
Walter  Littlefield,  Nathaniel  P.  Jones,  Vice  Presidents;  George 
A.  Safford.  Secretary,  George  E.  Carr,  Treasurer.  Article  II 
•of  its  constitution  states: 

The  object  of  this  Association  is  to  awaken  and  encourage  in  the 
community  a  sentiment  and  a  spirit  which  will  act  for  the  common 
interest;  to  create  or  stimulate  in  the  individual  a  regard  for  the  eleva- 
tion and  improvement  of  the  community,  thereby  securing  better 
hygienic  conditions  in  our  homes  and  surroundings  ;  an  improvement  of 
our  streets,  sidewalks  and  public  grounds ;  a  protection  of  natural 
scenery;  and  the  building  up  and  beautifying  the  whole  town  ;  and  so 
enhancing  the  value  of  its  property  and  rendering  it  a  still  more 
inviting  place  of  residence. 

All  these  objects  were  successfully  accomplished  during  its 
active  life  of  six  or  seven  years.  Thousand  of  trees  were  set 
out  on  streets  in  all  parts  of  the  town,  well  protected  by  wire 
netting,  and  are  today  of  good  size,  and  form  delightful  shade 
to  all  during  the  hot  season,  as  well  as  being,  in  themselves, 
beautiful  and  ornamental.  Streets  and  gutters  were  cleaned 
and  improved,  and  many  other  things  coming  under  its  juris- 
diction were  done. 

As  an  indication  of  the  activity  and  usefulness  of  this  Asso- 
ciation, a  few  items  from  the  Treasurer's  report,  for  one  or  two 


CHARITABLE  AND  IMPROVEMENT  ASSOCIATIONS.   413 

of  the  years  of  its  existence,' will  testify.  In  1886,  the  sum  of 
$557.72  was  contributed  by  the  citizens  in  membership  fees, 
etc.,  of  which  S476.80  were  paid  for  trees  and  protectors,  S30 
for  fillino-  the  large  bronze  vase  at  Town  Hall  with  flowers — 
this  vase  costing  S21 5.25,  was  given  out  of  the  receipts  of  former 
years  —  S22.50  for  clearing  up  Melrose  Common.  William  A. 
Rodman,  Treasurer.  In  1887,  the  same  amount.  S557.72,  was 
raised,  $297.40  paid  for  trees  and  protectors,  S60  for  trimming- 
trees  and  S24  for  filling  the  Town  Hall  vase.  Edward  K.  Bord- 
man,  Treasurer.  The  balances  were  used  in  clearing  streets 
and  other  necessary  expenses. 

In  this  way,  this  Association  performed  a  very  important 
work,  in  beautifying  and  caring  for  the  appearance  of  our  town 
during  its  activity,  the  fruitage  of  which,  the  citizens  are  now 
enjoying.  In  all  there  were  over  3.000  trees  set  out  and 
protected,  in  the  streets  in  various  parts  of  the  town.  Much  of 
this  work  was  done  while  under  the  presidency  of  William  N. 
Folsom,  with  Charles  C.  Barry  as  Vice-President  and  Franklin 
P.  Shumway,  Secretary.^ 

The  acceptance  of  the  Park  Law  passed  by  the  Legislature, 
and  the  formation  of  a  Board  of  Park  Commissioners,  in  1887, 
which  soon  after  took  charge  of  the  parks  and  public  improve- 
ments coming  under  their  jurisdiction,  superceded  the  functions 
of  this  Association.  This  organization  still  exists  with  Levi 
S.  Gould,  President,  and  Sidney  H.  Buttrick,  Secretary.  As 
there  are  now  no  Park  Commissioners,  it  may  yet  be  called 
upon  to  do  more  of  its  beneficent  work. 

In  the  early  days  when  our  town  was  small,  perhaps  before 
it  was  incorporated,  a  society  was  formed  by  a  number  of  our 
citizens,  and  under  the  leadership  of  Hon.  Samuel  E.  Sewall 
and  Hon.  Daniel  W.  Gooch,  it  collected  funds  and  caused  to  be 
set  out  many  of  the  large  trees  now  existing  on  Wyoming 
Avenue,  Cottage,  Vinton,  Foster  and  other  streets.- 

In   1897,  the  citizens  of    the    Highlands    district   formed   a 

1  During  the  first  five  years  of  its  Society     are     .Mien     C.    Goss    and 

history,     William     D.    Serrat    was  Nathaniel  P.  Jones. 
Treasurer  for  1  he  greater  part  of  the 

time,  and  during  that   time  about  '  Letter  from  Hon.  Levi  S.  Gould, 

|i,6oo  was  raised  and  expended,  a,.d  who  rememl.ers  attending  some  ot 

over    1,600  trees  were   set  out  and  the     n.eetings    where     funds    were 

protected.    Other  officers  that  have  solicite<l  for  that  purpose, 
done  most  excellent  work  in    this 


414  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

similar  society,  with  more  comprehensive  objects  than  the 
older  society,  but  more  especially  intended  to  benefit  and  care 
for  that  section  of  the  town.     This  is  called  the 

Melrose  Highlands  Improvement  Association.  Its  object 
as  stated  in  the  Constitution  is  as  follows: 

This  Association  is  formed  to  promote  the  interests  of  Melrose 
Highlands,  and,  acting  in  harmony  with  other  organizations,  to  culti- 
vate good  citizenship  and  further  the  best  interests  of  the  Town  of 
Melrose. 

Its  officers  are:  President,  Stephen  F.  Keyes;  Vice  Presi- 
dent, Krnest  Mendum;  Treasurer,  William  A.  Carrie;  Secretary, 
Charles  N.  Fowler;  Directors,  Charles  M.  Cox,  Stuart  B. 
Remick,  Fred  L.  Hatch,  Joseph  A.  Hurd  and  L.  Henry 
Kunhardt. 

At  its  monthly  meetings  it  discusses  various  subjects  that 
are  brought  before  it  under  the  auspices  of  the  following  stand- 
ing committee:  Parks  and  Shrubbery,  Legal  and  Legislation, 
Schools  and  Schoolhouses,  Rapid  Transit  and  Railroads,  Streets, 
Sidewalks  and  Crossings,  Sewers  and  Water  Supply,  Gas  and 
Electric  Lighting.  This  Association  existed  a  number  of 
years,  doing  good  work  in  its  various  departments,  but  at  the 
present  time  is  not  active,  although  still  organized. 

The  Board  of  Trade,  was  organized  February  13,  1900, 
with  Oscar  F.  F'rost  as  its  first  President.  It  now  has  a  mem- 
bership of  150,  composed  largely  of  our  local  business  men. 
Article  II  of  the  Constitution: 

The  object  of  the  Board  of  Trade  shall  be  to  foster,  encourage  and 
develope  the  mercantile  and  manufacturing  interests  of  Melrose,  to 
collect,  preserve  and  circulate  useful  information  concerning  the  cit}', 
its  trade,  industries  and  advantages;  to  obtain  fair  and  equitable  rates 
of  freight  and  improved  passenger  service  to  and  from  Melrose,  and 
to  prevent,  if  possible  discrimination  in  favor  of  other  places  ;  to  strive 
with  united  effort  to  increase  the  wealth,  industries,  trade,  influence 
and  population  of  the  city. 

Besides  the  banquet  given  to  the  City  Government  and 
guests.  May  2,  1900,  in  honor  of  the  50th  Anniversary  of  the 
incorporation  of  the  Town,  it  holds  an  annual  one  in  May.  Its 
present  officers  are:  President,  Edwin  S.  Small;  Vice  Presi- 
dents, Herbert  J.  Perry  and  Victor  A.  Friend;  Secretary,  John 
J.  Keating;  Treasurer,  L.  P'rank  Hinckley,  and  it  has  an 
Executive  Committee  of  fifteen. 


CHAPTER  XXVII. 

ANNIVERSARIES. 

THE    FIFTIETH    ANNIVERSARY. 

ON  THE  1 2th  of  Febuary,  1900,  the  Board  of  Aldermen  ap- 
pointed a  committee  consisting  of  His  Honor,  Mayor 
Levi  S.  Gould,  and  Aldermen  Charles  J.  Barton,  Chair- 
man, Edwin  S.  Small,  John  E.  Marshall,  Andrew  J.  Burnett, 
George  E.  Berry  and  Eugene  H.  Moore,  to  make  arrangements 
for  the  proper  celebration  of  the  Fiftieth  Anniversary  of  the 
incorporation  of  the  Town  of  Melrose,  May  3,  1850.  An  aj)- 
propriation  of  $500  was  made  for  the  purpose. 

After  various  meetings  an  interesting  programme  of  festiv- 
ities was  arranged  for  the  occasion ;  but  owing  to  the  prevalance 
of  a  very  severe  storm  on  that  day  none  of  the  contemplated 
events  took  place,  but  were  postponed,  with  added  features, 
to  July  4,  1900. 

On  the  evening  previous  10  the  anniversary,  May  2,  a  very 
enjoyable  and  successful  banquet  was  given  by  the  Board  of 
Trade,  in  City  Hall,  to  the  members  of  the  City  Government 
and  their  invited  guests.  The  Hall  was  handsomely  decorated 
and  plates  for  three  hundred  and  eighty  guests  were  laid  by 
Caterer  Jesse  A.  Dill.  On  the  stage,  embellished  with  ferns 
and  potted  plants  was  stationed  Littleficld's  orchestra,  which 
discoursed  most  excellent  music  for  the  occasion. 

Previous  to  the  banquet  an  informal  reception  for  the  invited 
guests,  was  held  in  the  aldermanic  chamber. 

The  invited  guests  of  the  Board  of  Trade  were  as  follows: 
Lieutenant  Governor,  Hon.  John  L.  Bates;  Secretarj'  of  the 
Commonwealth,  Hon.  William  M.  Olin;  Captain  N.  Ma}o 
Dyer;  President  of  the  Senate,  George  K.  Smith;  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives,  Hon.  James  J.  Myers;  Repre- 
sentative and  Mrs.  Charles  H.  Adams;  Rev.  and  Mrs.  Thomas 
J.    Horner;    Mr.    and    Mrs.  Charles    C.   Barry;    Mr.    and    Mrs. 


416  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Elbridge  H.  Goss,  and  the  City  Government,  Mayor  Levi  S. 
Gould  and  the  twenty-one  Aldermen  with  their  wives. 

The  invited  guests  of  the  City  Government  were:  Hon. 
Francis  Bigelow  and  Hon.  Samuel  O.  Upham,  County  Com- 
missioners; John  A.  Fairbairn,  .Sheriff;  Hon.  Charles  L.  Dean, 
Mayor,  Winslow  B.  Southworth,  President  of  the  Board  of 
Aldermen,  and  William  A.  Hastings,  President  of  the  Common 
Council,  of  Maiden;  Hon.  Lewis  H.  Lovering,  Mayor,  Charles 
S.  Baxter,  President  of  the  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  Charles 
G.  Browne,  President  of  the  Common  Council,  of  Medford; 
Hon.  Charles  C.  Nichols,  Mayor,  Charles  Bruce,  President  of 
the  Board  of  Aldermen,  and  Albert  Downing,  President  of  the 
Common  Council,  of  Everett;  W.  S.  Keene,  Chairman  of  the 
Board  of  Selectmen,  of  Stoneham;  Wesley  Paul,  Chairman  of 
the  Board  of  Selectmen  of  Saugus;  and  Richard  Stout,  Chair- 
man of  the  Board  of  Selectmen,  of  Wakefield. 

A  very  neat  menu  was  prepared,  containing  on  its  first  page 
a  view  of  City  Hall,  on  its  second  the  names  of  the  special 
guests  and  other  speakers,  on  the  third  the  menu,  and  on  the 
fourth  the  officers  of  the  Board  of  Trade:  Oscar  F.  Frost, 
President;  Edwin  S.  Small  and  Herbert  J.  Perry,  Vice  Presi- 
dents; L.  Frank  Hinckley.  Treasurer;  Victor  A.  Friend, 
Secretary. 

Divine  blessing  was  invoked  by  Rev.  Thomas  J.  Horner. 

At  half  past  eight  o'clock  the  assembly  was  called  to  order, 
and  President  Frost  welcomed  the  guests  in  a  very  appropriate 
manner,  briefly  stating  the  purpose  and  work  of  the  Board  of 
Trade,  which  had  then  been  organized  less  than  three  months, 
and  had  a  membership  of  sixts'.  He  invited  all  citizens  of 
Melrose  to  join,  and  help  the  Board  of  Trade  to  make  Melrose 
one  of  the  best  cities  in  the  Commonwealth.  He  then  intro- 
duced Mr.  Elbridge  H.  Goss,  as  the  historian  of  Melrose,  to 
serve  as  the  Toastmaster  of  the  occasion. 

The  toasts,  responses,  speeches  and  letters  of  this  banquet 
are  given  cjuite  at  length  in  the  volume  issued  as  a  memorial 
of  this  Fiftieth  AnnivLrsar}\  entitled:  Melrose:  Toi^'ii  and  City, 
published  i)\'  Chailcs  H.  Adams,  pp.  26-34. 

Thk  iooth  Anniversary.  There  is  on  deposit  in  the 
Melrose  Savings  Bank  a  special  fund,  which,  with  its  accumu- 
lations, is  to  be  used  for  the  celebration  of  the  lOOlh 
anniversar}'  of  the  incorporation  of  the  Town  of  Melrose,  May  3, 


A  NNIVERSA  RIES.  41 T 

1950.  This  was  a  balance  of  $7.50  rt'niainini4  from  the  celebra- 
tion of  Jul)'  4,  1876,  the  "Centennial  Fourth,"  and  now  amounts 
to  S20.35. 

Malden's  250TH  Anniversakv.  The  Town  of  Maiden  was 
incorporated  May  2,  1649.  ^'i  the  20th,  21st,  22d  and  23d 
of  May,  1899,  the  250th  anniversary  of  its  incorporation  was 
celebrated  by  the  City  of  Maiden;  Si 7,500  being  appropriated 
for  its  expenses.  The  City  of  Everett,  formerly  South  Maiden, 
and  the  Town  of  Melrose,  formerly  North  Maiden,  were  invited 
to  join  with  Maiden  in  the  celebration. 

At  a  Town  Meeting  held  December  12,  1898,  the  following 
action  was  taken: 

Resolved,  That  the  citizens  of  Melrose,  in  town  meeting  assembled, 
accept  the  cordial  invitation  of  the  City  of  Maiden,  to  join  with  them 
in  the  celebration  of  the  250th  anniversary  of  its  incorporation  as  a 
town,  on  the  22d  and  23d  days  of  May,  1899,  and  it  is  therefore 

Voted,  That  a  committee  of  nine,  including  the  moderator  of  this 
meeting,  be  appointed  by  the  moderator,  to  meet  with  the  committee 
of  the  city  of  Maiden  to  make  such  arrangements  as  may  be  necessary 
to  co-operate  with  them  in  the  celebration  of  the  250th  anniversar\- 
of  its  incorporation  as  a  town. 

In  accordance  with  this  vote  the  following  gentlemen  were 
appointed  to  serve  on  this  committee; 

Levi  S.  Gould,  Sidney    H.  Buttrick, 

George  R.  Jones,  Charles  H.  Adams, 

Elbridge  H.  Goss,  John  Larrabee, 

B.  Marvin  Fernald,  Stephen  F.  Ke)'es, 

Willis  C.  Goss.' 
At  a  Town  Meeting  held  May  8,  1899,  ;S500  were  appointed 
to  enable  the  committee  to  make  proper  arrangements  for 
participation  in  this  celebration,  an  enabling  act  having  been 
passed  b)'  the  Legislature  authorizing  the  Town  to  make  such 
an  appropriation  for  this  especial  purpose,  said  act  being- 
approved  April  22.  The  members  of  the  committee  voteil 
unanimously  to  defray  their  own  expenses;  the  appropriation 
to  be  used  only  for  music,  engine  companies,  carriages  for 
veteran  soldiers  and  firemen,  cavalcade,  floats,  etc.,  to  take 
part  in  the  grand  parade  at  Maiden  on  the  23d  of  May. 

On  that  day  the  Melrose  Division,  No.  6  in  the  processior, 
formed  at  the  Town  Hall  at  9  a.  m.  and  marched  to  Malder. 
It  was  composed  of  the  following  features: 


418 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Walter  C.  Stevens,  Marshal. 

Harry  Stevens,  Chief  of  Staff. 

Aids: 

James  B.  Dillingham,  C.  Andrews  Fiske, 

Frank  M.  McLaughlin,  Albert  H.  Fuller, 

Frank  R.  Upham. 

Municipal  Band  of  Boston,  twenty  pieces. 

Banner    Representing     the    Town    Seal;     reverse,    "City    of 

Melrose,  1900." 

Cavalcade  of  twenty-four  uniformed  men. 

Indian  Chief,   Frank  J.  Ryder,  mounted.^ 

Board  of  Selectmen,  in  landau: 

Sidney  H.  Buttrick,  L.  Frank  Hinckley, 

Jonathan  C.  Howes,  Charles  J.  Barton. 

250th  Anniversary  Committee  in  a  drag  drawn  by  four  black 

horses. 
Melrose  Fife  and  Drum  Corps. 
Old  Endeavor  P^ngine  No.  3,"'^  manned  and  drawn  by  thirt}- 
six  men  from  Capt.  James  B.  Dillingham's  "  Provisional  Mili- 
tary Company,"  now  in  firemen's  uniform,  under  command  of 
Frank  W.  Lynde.'^  This  was  followed  by  a  carriage  containing 
five  veteran  firemen  who  attended  the  200th  Anniversary  Cel- 
ebration    of    Maiden,     in    1849;     they    were    members    of    the 

1  The    dress    worn    was    the    full  and  by  him  given  to  the  late  Maj. 

suit    of     the    Indian    Chief     "Red  Wilbur  D.  Fiske. 

Cloud,"  who  presented  it    to    Col.  2  Bought  by   Maldeu  in    1846  for 

Seymour,    then  with  Gen.   Custer,  the  North  Maldeu  precinct. 

^  The  names  of  these  thirty-six  men  were  as  follows: 
Frank  W.  Lynde,  Foreman,  J.  Clifford  Hills,  Assistant  Foreman, 


Abbott,  E.  Guy, 
Avery,  Lester, 
Black,  John  A., 
Cass,  Albert  H., 
Drown,  Walter  R., 
French,  Alfred  H., 
Harrison,  William  H., 
Hills,  James  W., 
Mellen,  William  E., 
Ramsey,  Alric, 
Upham,  Charles  E., 


Armstrong,  Charles  E., 

Bishop,  Lewis  O., 

Blades,  James  W., 

Cole,  Edward  C, 

Emerson,  Carl  S., 

Geyer.  Julius, 

Haven,  Harry  E., 

Laraviere,  Eugene, 

Mitchell,  F.  C, 

Robertson,  Henry,  .\., 

Wood,  Charles  E., 

Vaughn,    William. 
The   Hills,   Lynde,  and   Upham,  were   direct   descendants   of  Thomas 
Lynde,  Joseph  Hills,  John  Wayte  and  Phiueas  Upham,  prominent  among 
the  first  settlers  of  Maiden. 


A 3' 1  ward,   Patrick, 
Black,  Charles  E., 
Boothby,    Asa   A., 
Drown,  FVank  B., 
Foster,    Verdi    C, 
Green,   Harry, 
Heaton,  Lewis  B., 
Leisk,  John  A., 
Muse,  James, 
Rodgers,  FVed  II., 
Worth,  Ross, 


ANNIVERSARIES.  419 

company  that  drew  the  "Old  Kiuleaxor  "  in   the  procession  at 
that  time: 

Samuel  Ellison,  age  ninety  years. 
Freeman  Upham,  age  eighty-seven  years. 
James  G.  Emerson,  age  eighty-two  years. 
Abel  Willis,  age  eighty-one  years. 
William  H.  Wells,  age  sixty-six  years. 

Melrose  Fire  Department,  A.  Wilbur  Lynde,  Chief  lingineer. 

Steamer  No.  i,  and  Hose  Carriage  No.  i,  accompanied  by 
twenty-six  firemen. 

Veterans  of  U.  S.  Grant  Post  4,  G.  A.  R.,  George  P.  Marsh, 
Commander,  in  barge  "  Mayflower." 

Veterans  of  the  Spanish-American  War,  in  barge. 

Cambridge  Drum  Corps. 

Float  furnished  by  the  Melrose  Highlands  Improvement 
Association  representing  the  "  North  Maiden  Minute-Men  of 
1775,  going  to  the  Lexington  and  Concord  Fight."  This  float 
represented  the  seventeen  North  Maiden  men — among  whom 
were  Lyndes,  Barretts,  Spragues,  Howards,  Vintons,  Grovers, 
Uphams — who  responded  to  Paul  Revere's  alarm.  They  were 
dressed  in  Continental  costumes  of  great  variety;  some  being 
in  their  shirt  sleeves,  others  in  long  coats,  and  all  armed  with 
the  old-fashioned  flint-lock  muskets  with  powder-horns.  The 
old  plow  carried  on  the  float  was  in  use  over  a  hundred  years 
ago. 

This  was  a  very  interesting  feature  of  the  occasion,  and  was 
pleasingly  represented  by  the  following  gentlemen,  under  the 
command  of  Charles  M..Cox;  Joseph  A.  Hurd,  George  W. 
Burke,  Francis  A.  Smith,  Charles  N.  Fowler,  Fred  W.  Smith, 
Charles  F.  Reed.  Frank  N.  Bemis,  Roswell  W.Sawyer,  Roland 
R.  Morton,  Albert  F.  Tucker,  Bert  A.  Hurd,  George  Palmer, 
Daniel   H.  Howie,  Carl  Robinson  and  Charles  H.  Tabbut. 

Styles  of  locomotion:  Yoke  of  oxen,  with  drag  loaded  with 
timber,  emblematic  of  the  logs  cut  on  our  territory,  and  drawn 
from  North  Maiden  in  1796-7,  by  Unite  Cox  —  a  Revolutionarj' 
soldier  —  with  which  to  build  the  U.  S.  Frigate  Constitution, 
" Old  Ironsides." 

As  in  contrast,  it  was  intended  to  have  the  automobile 
carriage  belonging  to  Rufus  W.  Smitii;  hut,  owing  to  the 
inability  to  regulate  the  speed  with  that  of  the  procession,  that 
feature  was  necessarilv  withdrawn. 


420  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

The  cost  of  the  part  taken  by  Melrose  in  this  parade  was 
$497.60;  thus  leaving  an  unexpended  balance  in  Town  Treas- 
ury of  $2.40. 

One  of  the  features  of  this  celebration,  was  a  "  Historic  Loan 
Exhibition,"  which  took  place  May  22d,  23d  and  24th,  in  the 
rooms  of  the  Y.  M.  C.  A.  Building  on  Pleasant  Street,  under 
the  direction  of  a  committee  of  seventeen,  of  which  Frank  E. 
Woodward  was  Chairman.  Besides  the  general  committee, 
Honorary  Members  were  appointed  from  Maiden,  Melrose 
and  Everett;  two  from  Maiden,  six  from  Melrose  and  six  from 
Everett.  The  committee  from  Melrose,  appointed  by  the 
Maiden  Committee,  consisted  of  the  following  persons: 
Elbridge  H.  Goss,  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  Le\'i  S.  Gould, 
Miss  Mary  E.  Upham,  John  Larrabee  and  Mrs.  Harriet  E. 
Page. 

The  collection  of  portraits  and  antiquities  pertaining  to  the 
three  municipalities  of  Maiden,  Melrose  and  Everett  was  very 
extensive,  interesting  and  unique;  consisting  of  1081  items, 
which  were  described,  with  the  contributors'  names,  in  a 
handsomely  illustrated  catalogue. 

Some  of  the  other  features  in  connection  with  this  Anniver- 
sary, were  those  that  took  place  in  the  Jubilee  Building  erected 
for  this  occasion,  on  Pleasant  Street.  Exercises  by  the  school 
children  on  Saturday,  the  20th;  religious  exercises  Sunday,  the 
2ist;  literary  and  musical  exercises  on  the  afternoon  of 
Monday,  the  22d,  with  address  by  Deloraine  P.  Corey,  Chair- 
man, and  President  of  the  Day;  oration  by  Hon.  Arthur  H. 
Wellman;  ode  by  Dr.  J.  Langdon  Sullivan  and  poem  by  Rev. 
Theron  Brown;  promenade  concert  and  ball  in  the  evening; 
and  in  the  evening  of  Tuesday,  the  23d,  the  grand  banquet,  at 
which  nearly  nine  hundred  persons  were  present,  Melrose  being 
represented  by  a  goodly  number.  Addresses  were  made  by 
Gov.  Roger  Wolcott,  Speaker  John  L.  Bates,  Congressman 
Ernest  W.  Roberts,  Mayor  Charles  L.  Dean,  Ex-Mayor  Elisha 
S.  Converse  and  others.  Each  guest  received  a  souvenir  plate, 
made  for  the  occasion  by  Josiah  Wedgewood  &  Sons,  England, 
of  which  the  following  is  a  representation.  It  is  a  ver\-  hand- 
some memento  of  this  celebration. 

The  centre  of  the  plate  is  occupied  b)'  a  view  of  the  Converse 

Memorial  Building,  which  contains  the  Maiden  Public  Librars'. 

Below  this  view  is  a  copy  of  the  record  of  the  incorporation 


ANNIVERSARIES. 


421 


of  the  town.  At  the  top  of  the  plate  is  Hill's  Tavern  —  "the 
Rising  Ea<Tle"  as  it  appeared  in  1850,  taken  from  a  cut  in 
•Corey's  Histoiy  of  Maiden.  This  house,  which  is  still  standing, 
was  built  about  1725.  and  was  occupied  as  a  pul)lic  house  until 
1804. 

On  either  side  appear  the  obverse  and  reverse  of  the  borough 
seal  of  Maldon,  Co.  Essex,  Eng.,  the  mother  of  the  Maiden  of 
New  England. 

On  the  right  hand,  in  a  medallion,  is  a  view  of  Maiden  in 
1837.  drawn  from  a  cut  in  Barber's  Historical  Collections  of 
Massachnsetts.  This  view  was  taken  from  Bailey's  Hill,  and 
presents  with  accuracy  some  of  the  prominent  landmarks  of 
that  dav. 


On  the  left,  in  a  corresponding  medallion,  is  the  Old  Parson- 
age, near  Bell  Rock,  which  was  built  in  1724,  antl  was  the 
birthplace  of  the  celebrated  missionary,  Adoniram  Judson,  who 
was  born  here  in  1788. 

At  the  bottom,  in  the  ornamental  border  which  surrounds 
the  plate,  and  in  which  the  medallions  are  set,  appears  the 
seal  of  the  town  which  was  in  use  until  the  incorporation  of 
the  cit\-,  when  it  was  superceded  by  the  present  city  seal.     The 


422  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

design  is  by  Ludvig  S.  Ipsen,  of  Maiden,  and  is  as  beautiful  as 
it  is  apposite. 

The  following    letter    shows    that    the    city  of  Maiden  was 

pleased  with  the  action  of  Melrose  and  thoroughly  appreciated 

*  the    efforts    put  forth  by  the  citizens  and  its    committees    to 

render  the  celebration  of  their  250th  Anniversary  a  grand  and 

gratifying  success: 

Malden,  May  27,  1899. 
Hon.  Levi  S.  Gonid,  C/iairnuin  Melrose  Celebration  Cottunittee  : 

My  Dear  Sir. — At  a  special  meeting  of  this  committee  held  this 
evening,  the  following  vote  was  unanimously  passed: 

Voted,  That  the  Executive  Committee  of  the  General  Committee 
on  the  Celebration  of  the  250th  Anniversary  of  the  incorporation  of 
the  Town  of  Maiden,  appreciates  the  enthusiastic  interest  of  the  Town 
of  Melrose  as  shown  by  its  active  assistance  in  the  preparations  for 
the  events  of  the  celebration,  and  also  by  its  participation  in  the 
parade  in  a  manner  deserving  of  highest  praise. 

And  this  committee  tenders  its  thanks  and  the  thanks  of  the  citizens 
of  Maiden  to  the  Committee  and  citizens  of  Melrose  for  these  expres- 
sions of  affection  for  and  interest  in  the  Mother  Town. 

Respectfully  submitted, 

Albert  Ammann,  Clerk. 

A  handsome  and  profusely  illustrated  volume  was  issued  bv 
Maiden  under  the  auspices  of  the  Memorial  Volume  Commit- 
tee, Deloraine  P.  Corey,  Chairman.  Among  the  illustrations 
are  three,  showing  portions  of  the  Melrose  Division,  en  route, 
while  taking  part  in  this  grand  parade;  U.  S.  Grant  Post  4, 
G.  A.  R.,  the  old  P^ndeavor  Engine  and  the  float  of  the  High- 
lands Improvement  Association. 

Old  Home  Wekk.  Instigated  by  the  example  and  good 
influences  resulting  from  the  institution  of  "Old  Home  Week" 
which  has  been  adopted  by  New  Hampshire,  Maine  and 
Vermont,  our  Representative  to  the  General  Court,  Charles  H. 
Adams,  introduced  a  bill  for  a  similar  act  for  Massachusetts,, 
which  became  a  law  February  25,  1902.  B}-  this  act,  the  calen- 
dar week  beginning  with  the  last  Sunday  of  July  in  each  year, 
is  set  ai)art  as  a  season  in  which  cities  and  towns  may  hold 
appropriate  celebration.^  in  honor  of  returning  sons  and 
daughters,  and  other  invited  guests,  with  exercises  of  historical 
interest.  Cities  and  towns  are  authorized  to  appropriate 
money  for  such  observances. 

In   the    first    )'ear  of  its  enactment    many   towns  and  cities 


ANNIVERSARIES.  428 

embraced  the  opportunity,  and  held  very  successful  celebra- 
tions. As  the  years  go  by  such  anniversar\'  i^atherinijs  will 
increase  and  become  more  popular. 

In  Melrose,  under  the  auspices  of  a  Committee  appointed 
by  the  City  Government  and  the  Board  of  Trade,  consisting  of 
His  Honor,  Mayor  John  Larrabee,  Charles  H.  Adams.  Oscar 
F.  Frost,  Daniel  E.  Gibson,  Moses  S.  Page  and  Aaron  Hill.  Jr., 
a  well  arranged  programme  of  exercises  and  events  was 
prepared  for  its  first  celebration.  On  Sunday,  July  27th, 
appropriate  sermons  were  preached  in  the  different  churches 
either  by  local  or  former  pastors;  that  in  the  Orthodox  Con- 
gregational Church  by  Rev.  Henr)'  A.  .Stevens,  who  was 
settled  over  that  Church  from  1861  to  1868,  and  in  the  High- 
lands Congregational  Church  1)\'  Rev.  D.  Allen  Morehouse,  its 
first  minister. 

In  the  evening  union  services  were  held  in  the  City  Audito- 
rium, Mayor  Larrabee  presiding.  Introductory  address  by  the 
Chairman;  reading  of  the  Scriptures  by  Rev.  Thomas  W. 
Brown,  former  pastor  of  the  Unitarian  Church;  prayer  by  Rev. 
Henry  A.  Stevens;  historical  addresses  by  Levi  S.  Gould  and 
Elbridge  H.  Goss,  and  address  by  Rev.  John  D.  Pickles,  D.  D., 
former  pastor  of  the  Methodist  Church;  the  whole  interspersed 
with  singing  b>'  a  double  quartette  under  the  leadership  of 
William  C.  Brown. 

On  Monday  evening  a  public  reception  was  held  in  the  High 
School  Building;  the  receiving  party  being  Mayor  Larrabee, 
Kx-Mayor  Gould,  President  Robinson  of  the  Board  of  Alder- 
men, President  Small  and  Ex-President  Frost  of  the  Board  of 
Trade,  and  Representative  Charles  H.Adams,  with  their  wives. 
-Several  hundreds  of  our  citizens  and  visitors  took  the  occa- 
sion to  visit  our  handsome  building,  with  its  many  valuarble 
gifts  with  which  it  is  adorned,  consisting  of  engravings,  paint- 
ings, bas-reliefs  and  statuary,  contributed  by  citizens  and 
classes.  Dow's  Orchestra  discoursed  excellent  music  during 
the  reception.  Wednesday  was  the  gala  day,  being  filled  with 
races,  games,  water  sports  at  ¥A\  Pond  under  the  direction  of 
John  J.  Keating,  a  parade  of  the  Police  and  Fire  Departments, 
led  by  the  Melrose  Cadet  Band,  twenty-two  pieces,  under  the 
direction  of  George  H.  Glover,  and  in  the  evening  at  the 
band  stand  at  the  head  of  Ell  Pond,  a  very  fine  concert  by 
the  Cadet  Band,  at  which  a  large  crowd  was  in  attendance. 


424  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

On  Saturday,  the  last  day,  the  Soldiers'  Monument  was 
dedicated  at  Wyoming  Cemetery,  under  the  auspices  of  the  U. 
S.  Grant  Post  4,  G.  A.  R.  A  parade  consisting  of  a  platoon  of 
police,  City  Ofificers,  the  U.  S.  Grant  Post  4,  G.  A.  R.,  Sons  of 
Veterans,  Camp  79,  Woman's  Relief  Corps  and  citizens  gener- 
ally, with  music  by  the  Melrose  Cadet  Band,  proceeded  from 
City  Hall  to  the  monument  where  the  exercises  took  place. 

These  consisted  of  an  address  of  welcome  by  His  Honor 
Mayor  Larrabee,  and  who,  in  behalf  of  the  City,  temporarily 
placed  the  monument  in  the  care  of  the  Post  for  the  dedicatory 
services.  Commander  Frank  T.  Palmer  accepted  the  same, 
prayer  was  offered  by  Chaplain  John  E.  Marshall,  an  address 
by  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore  and  the  oration  by  John  D. 
Billings,  Past  Commander  of  the  G.  A.  R.  of  Massachusetts. 

The  Officer  of  the  Day  was  Horatio  S.  Libby,  Adjutant, 
Edwin  C.  Could,  Senior  Vice  Commander,  A.  A.  Carlton  Guard 
of  Honor,  Sergeant  John  S.  Larrabee  and  Comrades  Charles 
E.  Palmer,  Fernald,  Casey  and  Riley,  Flag  Bearer,  William  H. 
Richardson. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII. 

TEMPERANCE  MATTERS. 


EARLY    ACTION. 

MELROSE,  ever  since  the  date  of  its  incorporation,  has 
ranked  as  one  of  the  strongest  temperance  towns  in 
the  Commonwealth.  While  the  Prohibition  Law  was 
on  the  statute  books,  various  persons  were  appointed  Liquor 
Agents;  Jonathan  Cochran.  Solomon  Severy  and  Hiram  Whit- 
ney, each  serving  a  number  of  years.  Year  after  year  attempts 
were  made  to  have  this  law  repealed  and  a  local  option  one 
substituted.  In  1867,  some  prominent  clergymen  appeared 
before  a  Committee  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature,  and 
spoke  in  favor  of  a  moderate  use  of  intoxicating  liquors. 
This  action  met  the  heart)-  condemnation  of  many  citizens. 
The  Melrose  Orthodox  Congregational  Church  met  and  passed 
the  following  resolutions  unanimously: 

Believing-  the  sale  of  into.xicating  liquors  for  a  beverage  to  be  wholly 
injurious  to  the  social,  moral,  and  religious  interests  of  the  community, 
therefore, 

Resolved :  That  the  Congregational  Church  of  Melrose  earnestly 
protests  against  the  passage,  by  the  Legislature,  of  any  law  licensing 
the  same  for  other  than  mechanical  or  medicinal  puqooses. 

Resolved :  That  the  present  prohibitory  law  should  not  only  be 
sustained,  but  strengthened  by  such  legislation  as  may  be  necessary. 

Resolved :  That  the  clerk  of  the  church  present  a  copy  of  these 
resolutions  to  the  Legislature. 

Hut  all  efforts  were  unavailing.  The  Prohibitt)ry  Law  was 
repealed  in  1875.  '^^'^  the  Local  Option  Law  enacted.  This 
necessitated  the  action  of  voting  each  year,  in  every  town  and 
city,  deciding  whether  or  not  intoxicating  liquors  should  be 
sold  as  a  beverage  in  its  municipality.  Melrose  has  always 
voted  strongly  against  the  e\'il.  It  was  the  banner  town  in 
Massachusetts,  for  a  while  in  this  respect,  only  two  or  three 
votes  bein<r  cast  in  favor.     The  results  of  some  of  these  ballots 


426  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

are  as  follows:  in  1886,  yes  3,  no  229;  in  1887,  yes  2,  no  420; 
in  1888,  yes  3.  no  595;  in  1889,  yes  16,  no  518;  and  from  that 
time  there  has  been  a  gradual  increase  of  both  votes,  that  at 
the  last  election,  December,  1901,  being  yes  292,  no  1326. 
Notwithstanding  the  very  strong  anti-license  vote  year  after 
year,  the  iniquitous  traffic  has  been  illegally  and  secretly 
carried  on  in  Melrose,  in  years  past,  to  a  certain  extent;  but 
ever}'  effort  has  been  made  to  eradicate  the  evil.  At  a  Town 
Meeting  held  September  6,  1870,  the  following  resolution  was 
adopted  by  a  unanimous  vote: 

Resolved :  That  the  Selectmen  be  requested  and  instructed  to 
require  of  the  proper  officers  that  they  prosecute  forthwith  every 
violation  of  the  law,  and  if  necessary  to  so  increase  the  Police  Force,  as 
to  effectually  and  forever,  close  every  place  where  such  liquors  are 
sold,  the  additional  expense  to  be  charged  to  the  Contingent  Fund. 

In  various  years  votes  like  the  following,  passed  ^November 
15,  1882,  have  been  recorded  in  favor  of  temperance: 

Voted,  That  the  sum  of  three  hundred  dollars  be  appropriated  for 
the  enforcement  of  the  liquor  laws,  and  that  the  Selectmen  be  author- 
ized to  employ  such  legal  and  other  assistance  as  in  their  judgment 
may  be  necessary  to  suppress  the  sale  of  intoxicating  drinks  in  this 
Town;  and  that  the  Treasurer  be  and  he  is  hereby  authorized  to 
borrow  the  sum  of  three  hundred  dollars  for  the  purposes  mentioned. 

So  faithfully  and  persistently  have  our  officers  aided  in  this 
manner  that  it  is  safe  to  say  that  Melrose  still  maintains  her 
rank  and  honor  as  a  banner  temperance  town. 

This  sentiment  has  been  largely  fostered  and  increased  by 
the  many  temperance  organizations  that  have  in  the  past,  and 
do  now  exist  in  our  town.  Earnest  men  and  women  have 
banded  together  to  do  what  they  could  to  stay  the  inroads  of 
this  terrible  evil  in  our  midst;  and  in  this  way  much  has  been 
accomplished  for  the  well  being  of  our  community.  In  their 
day  the  "Sons  of  Temperance,"  which  body  existed  for  a 
number  of  years,  did  valiant  service;  so  was  it  with  the 
"  Loyala  Temperance  Cadets,"  and  the  "Catholic  Total  Ab- 
stinence Society,"  all  of  which  have  been  superceded  by  other 
like  organizations. 

The  oldest  one  now  existing  in  Melrose  is  the 

SiLOAM  Temple  of  Honor,  No.  29,  which  was  instituted 
May  14,  1867.     It  has  forty-five  members.     It  is  officered  as  fol- 


TEMPERANCE  MATTERS.  427 

lows:  Worthy  Chief  Templar,  Worthy  Vice  Temi)lar,  Worthy 
Recorder,  Worthy  Assistant  Recorder,  Worthy  Financial  Re- 
corder, Worthy  Treasurer,  Worthy  Chaplain,  Worthy  Usher, 
Worthy  Deputy  Usher,  Inside  Guardian  and  Outside  Sentinel. 
Closely  affiliated  with  this  orj^anization  is  the 

SiLOAM  Social  Temple,  No.  6,  which  was  instituted  Novem- 
ber II,  i86S,  and  has  sixty-seven  members.  This  is  officered 
as  follows:  .Sister  and  Brother  Presiding  Templar,  Sister  and 
Brother  Vice  Templar,  Sister  and  Brother  Recorder,  .Sister 
Financial  Recorder,  .Sister  Treasurer,  Sister  and  Brother  Usher, 
Sister  Cha[)lain,  Sister  Guardian  and  Brother  Sentinel.  For 
many  years  there  was  associated  with  these  orders  the  Cadets 
of  Temperance,  composed  of  young  men  and  boys.  It  was  the 
means  of  instilling  into  the  minds  of  those  coming  to  years  of 
maturity,  and  many  of  whom  now  have  to  manhood  grown,  the 
temperance  principles  so  strongly  advocated  by  the  fathers 
and  mothers. 

Thk  Mei.rose  Woman's  Christian  Temperance  Union 
was  organized  June  7,  1882,  with  a  membership  of  fift)',  with 
Mrs.  01i\-e  J.  Liltlefield  as  its  first  President,  who  is  now  its 
Honorary  President.  It  has  now  three  hundred  and  seventy- 
eight  members,  active  and  honorary.  Its  Constitution  is  as 
follows: 

In  view  of  the  wide  spreading  influence  of  intemperance  throughout 
our  country,  and  especially  in  our  community,  its  debasing  influence 
upon  the  souls  of  its  victims,  the  misery  brought  through  its  use  to 
the  homes  of  our  citizens : 

We,  the  undersigned,  women  of  Melrose,  hereby  form  ourselves  into 
a  solemn  compact,  pledging  our  active  co-operation  in  all  practicable 
ways  for  removing  this  terrible  evil,  and  in  creating  such  a  healthful 
public  sentiment  as  .shall  demand  and  secure  the  banishment  of  in- 
toxicating drink  from  our  land. 

Fully  comprehending  the  difficulties  of  this  work  and  our  utter 
insufficiency,  unaided  by  Divine  help,  we  will  not  cease  to  implore  by 
prayer  and  communion  with  God  and  His  Word  that  strength  and 
wisdom  which  alone  can  crown  our  labors  with  success. 

This  large  and  active  body  of  energetic  and  determined 
women  has  done  much  effective  work  in  keeping  Melrose  the 
strong  and  influential  temperance  town  that  it  is.  Kach  season 
a    course    of  lectures  and  entertainments  has  been  sustained. 


428  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Many  of  the  eminent  speakers  and  lecturers,  and  much  of  the 
talent  for  these  courses,  has  been  obtained  through  the  instru- 
mentality of  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  who  has  acted  as  the 
"  Lecture  Committee,"  and  who  has  ever  taken  a  very  great 
interest  in  the  prosperity  and  good  work  of  this  Society.  To 
her  more  than  any  other  one  is  due  the  credit  for  its  long  and 
prosperous  career.  But  her  efforts  have  been  earnestly  and 
energetically  aided  by  the  many  others  that  have  been  asso- 
ciated with  her. 

In  August,  1899,  this  Society  established  a  very  practical 
and  beneficial  structure;  one  that  will  be  enjoyed  and  appre- 
ciated by  the  public.  It  has  given  the  City  a  handsome  bronze 
drinking  fountain,  which  has  been  placed  on  Main  Street,  at 
the  edge  of  the  sidewalk,  on  the  easterly  side  of  the  City  Hall. 
A  tank  has  been  built  in  the  sidewalk,  which  is  surrounded 
with  a  coil  of  water  pipe,  in  the  centre  of  which  a  supply  of 
ice  is  placed  daily;  thus  furnishing  cold  water  to  the  thirsty 
public  "  without  money  and  without  price."  This  ornamental 
accession  to  public  improvements  bears  the  following  inscrip- 
tion: W.  C.  T.  U.  1899. 

The  ofificers  are  chosen  annually,  and  are  as  follows:  Hon- 
orary President,  President,  two  Vice  Presidents,  Recording 
Secretary,  Corresponding  Secretary,  Treasurer,  Assistant  Treas- 
urer, Auditor,  and  there  is  a  large  Executive  Committee.  There 
^re  also  Lecture,  P'ranchise  and  Distribution  Temperance 
Literature  Committees,  a  Superintendent  of  Temperance  In- 
struction in  Schools,  and  a  Committee  on  the  Willard  Y  Settle- 
ment and  Wide  Awakes. 

P^or  many  years,  and  until  within  a  short  period,  the 
"  Independent  Order  of  Good  Templars,  Guiding  Star  Lodge, 
No.  28,"  which  was  organized  in  1861,  did  long  and  faithful 
service  in  the  cause  of  temperance.  It  had  a  large  member- 
ship, and  was  aided  and  encouraged  by  all  who  had  the  best 
welfare  of  the  Town  at  heart. 

On  November  13,  1900,  this  order  was  reorganized  as  Melrose 
Lodge,  No.  5,  I.  O.  of  G.  T.,  and  is  now  in  a  flourishing  condi- 
tion. It  is  officered  as  follows:  Chief  Templar,  Vice  Templar, 
Secretary,  Assistant  Secretary,  Financial  Secretary,  Treasurer, 
Marshal,  Deputy  Marshal,  Chaplain,  Guard,  Sentinel,  Super- 
intendent of  Juvenile  Templars  and  Past  Chief  Templar. 


TEMPERANCE  MATTERS.  429 

St.  Mary's  Catholic  Total  Abstinence  Society,  was 
organized  April,  1897,  and  has  73  members. 

The  foundation,  the  corner  stone  of  our  Societj^  is  total  abstinence, 
the  grandest  cause  ever  instituted  by  man.  We  are  banded  together 
for  the  elevation  and  true  education  of  the  Catholic  young  men  of  the 
city.  The  need  of  the  Society  is  evident.  The  good  that  is  being 
done  by  this  Society  in  this  city  is  daily  manifesting  itself.  The  fruits 
of  our  labors  are  gratifying,  and  are  a  source  of  great  encouragement 
to  us  to  continue  the  work. 

It  is  officered  by  a  President,  Vice  President,  Secretary^ 
Treasurer,  Financial  Secretary,  Sergeant-at-Arms,  and  Board 
of  Directors  of  five;  Rev.  Francis  J.  Glynn,  Spiritual  Director. 

Some  of  the  action  taken  by  our  mother  Town,  and  the  votes 
passed  in  connection  with  the  traffic  in,  and  use  of  spirituous 
liquors  form  curious  reading  for  the  present  day,  for  the 
citizens  of  anti-license  communities.  Most  of  what  follows 
concerning  these  matters  is  taken  from  Corey's  History  of 
Maiden,  Chapter  "  Church  and  Town." 

As  Thomas  Call  was  the  first  beer  seller  of  Mystic  Side,  so 
to  Thomas  Skinner  belongs  the  doubtful  honor  of  being  the 
first  recorded  dealer  in  "strong  waters  "  in  Maiden.  Although 
the  latter  remained  in  life  and  in  Maiden  until  1704,  he  appears 
to  have  soon  retired  from  the  "  Ordinarie"  business.  The 
following  petition  lies  in  the  Middlesex  Court  files,  vi.  27: 

I'o  the  honoured  Court  at  Charleto  16.  4^''  m"_  i6^j  : 

The  Town  of  Maldon  being  destitute  of  An  Ordinarie  keeper  for 
Accommodatmg  the  Town  and  Countrie.  It  is  the  desire  of  the 
Selectmen  of  the  sayd  Town  :  that  A  Bro'.  of  the  Church  there :  namely 
Abraham  Hill  may  by  this  Court  be  licenced  to  keep  an  Ordinairee 
there.  As  Allso  to  draw  wine  for  the  better  Accommodating  both  the 
Church  and  Countrie.  JOH  Wayte 

John  Sprague 
John  Vphame 
Will  Brakknburv 
The  Court  consents  hereto  23.  4.  1657. 

Tho:  Dan  for  kh  Record'; 

Two  years  later  the  selectmen  reciuested  the  Court  that: 

Abr.  Hill  may  be  lycenced  to  sell  strong  liquoi^s  in  the  s''  Towne  for 
the  necessary  supply  of  Travelle's  as  allso  for  the  Inhabitants  that 


430  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

pi'sons  may  be  p"  vented  from  keeping  such  quantities  in  their  priuate 
Houses,  the  abuse  whereof  haue  proued  of  uery  euill  consequence. 

^th   2 mo   i6^g: 

The  evils  of  license  were  not  long  in  appearing.  Drunken- 
ness was  of  frequent  occurrence  and  many  sins  which  drunk- 
enness might  often  incite  were  not  unknown. 

And  in  October  of  the  same  year  the  County  Court  en- 
deavored to  remedy  the  evil: 

This  Court  doth  order  y'.  all  ye  inkeepers  within  the  limitts  of  this 
Coun.  shall  henceforth  be  p^hibited  selling  of  strong  waters  by  retaile. 

But  prohibition  did  not  prohibit.  Laws  were  annulled  or 
fell  into  disuse.  The  sale  of  liquors  has  ever  continued 
more  or  less;  and  pen  cannot  describe  resultant  crimes, 
poverty  and  sufferings  arising  therefrom. 

Other  items  of  interest  follow:  In  1671,  John  Pemberton  of 
Maiden  was  found  drunk  in  the  street  in  Boston  and  was  put 
in  the  stocks;  but  he  took  a  drunkard's  revenge  in  beating  his 
wife. 

In  1767  John  Mudge,  who  had  been  a  worthy  citizen  and  a 
deacon  of  the  South  Church,  appears  in  the  following  order 
as  one  who  had  become  depen'dent  upon  the  town: 

an  order  on  the  Treasurer  to  m'  James  Kittle  for  one  pound  ten 
Shillings  &  ten  pence  for  Supplies  of  Rum  &  Sugar  for  Dea"  Mudge 
Eight  month  (viz)  from  march  10'^';'  to  Oct^  27".'  1766. 
Dated  in  Maiden  Yeh\  18'';  1767. 

By  order  of  the  Select  men  Ezra  Green,  Town  Clerk. 

At  a  Town  Meeting,  held  August  12,  1779,  when  the  report  of 
a  "  Committee  to  state  the  prices  of  several  articles  of  Com- 
merce among  ourselves  which  the  Convention  did  not  state," 
was  considered,  votes  were  passed  which  affected  the  prices  of 
lodging  and  sustenance  at  public  houses.  It  was  then  ordered 
that  New  England  rum  should  be  nineteen  shillings  a  bowl, 
and  West  India  toddy  eighteen  shillings  a  bowl  with  loaf  sugar 
and  sixteen  shillings  with  brown  sugar. 

The  first  place  in  which  rum  was  sold  on  the  territory  of 
Melrose  was  in  the  old  Upham  house,  on  the  old  road  now 
Green  Street,  near  the  corner  of  Howard,  in  a  store  then  kept 
by  Israel  Cook.  This  is  spoken  of  more  in  detail  under  the 
heading  "  Revolutionary  Incidents." 


CHAPTER  XXIX. 
SOCIETIES— ASSOCIATIONS— CLUBS. 

IT  is  doubtful  if  any  town  or  city  in  the  Commonwealth  of 
Massachusetts,  of  the  size  of  Melrose,  has  as  many  different 
kinds  of  organizations  —  Church.  School,  Masonic,  Odd 
Fellows,  Temperance,  Patriotic,  Political,  Charitable,  Fraternal 
Insurance,  Beneficiary,  Alumni,  ^Educational,  Chapters,  Clubs, 
—  women's,  social,  literary,  golf,  cycle,  etc.  —  as  has  ours.  It 
may,  indeed,  be  called  a  "city  of  clubs;"  as  every  kind  of 
organization  that  is  clubbable  is  in  evidence.  I  have  tried  to 
enumerate  the  most  of  them,  but,  without  doubt,  "there  are 
others." 

Freemasonry.  The  Masonic  F"raternity  was  first  established 
in  Melrose  on  August  28,  1856,  when  a  dispensation  was  issued 
b)'  the  Most  Worshipful  Grand  Lodge  of  Massachusetts,  to 
eleven  citizens,  "  empowering  them  to  convene,  under  the 
name  of  VV}oming  Lodge,  and  in  said  capacity  to  initiate, 
craft,  and  raise  Masons."  It  received  its  charter  Septembt-r 
10,  1857,  and  "the  Lodge  was  formally  dedicated  to  the  mem- 
ory of  the  Holy  Saints  John,  October  12,  1857."  It  first  met 
in  the  old  Lyceum  Hall,  on  Main  Street,  and  afterwards  in 
handsomely  furnished  rooms,  with  costly  and  appropriate 
paraphernalia,  in  Waverley  Block,  Essex  Street. 

On  the  lOth  of  March,  1863,  a  dispensation  was  granted  by 
the  Most  PExcellent  Grand  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  this  Com- 
monwealth, to  thirty-eight  Companions,  mostly  citizens  of 
Melrose,  with  a  few  from  the  surrounding  towns,  to  work  as 
the  Waverley  Royal  Arch  Chapter  of  Masons,  and  they  were 
duly  chartered  September  30;  and  on  the  27th  of  March,  1S65, 
"  it  was  deemed  that  the  proper  time  had  come  to  perfect 
their  Masonic  structure,  and  ])lace  the  capstone  upon  the 
edifice,  by  establishing  an  Encampment'  of  Knights  Templars;" 

^  Knights     Templars     organi/.a-       changed,  ami  they  are  now  known 
lions    were    formerly    called     En-       as  Commandcries. 
•canipments,      but      the     title     was 


432  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

therefore  a  dispensation  was  issued  by  the  Grand  Encampment 
of  Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island,  empowering  fifty-six  Sir 
Knights,  living  in  Melrose  and  the  surrounding  towns,  to  con- 
vene under  the  name  of  the  Hugh  de  Payens  Encampment. 

Lodge,  Chapter  and  Encampment  were  now  enjoying  a  full 
tide  of  prosperity,  but  were  doomed  to  bitter  disappointment. 

On  the  evening  of  Thursday,  January  ii,  1866,  the  alann  bell 
sounded  forth  its  warning  notes,  and  upon  repairing  to  Waverley  Hall 
it  was  found  that  this  noble  structure  was  in  the  power  of  the  destroyer. 
Great  and  unceasing  effort  was  made  by  the  brethren  resident  in 
Melrose,  assisted  by  the  citizens  generally,  to  rescue  the  furniture  of 
our  Lodge,  and  with  partial  success.  The  jewels  and  a  portion  of  the 
necessary  working  implements  of  each  body  were  saved;  all  else  was 
swallowed  up  in  irretrievable  ruin.  The  extent  of  this  disaster  for  a 
time  paralyzed  the  craft,  and  some  were  almost  ready  to  resign  in 
despair  the  idea  of  regaining  our  former  position;  but  there  were 
many  connected  with  each  organization,  who  could  not  harbor  the 
thought  that  Masonry  with  us  should  meet  so  tragic  an  end.- 

But  a  short  time  elapsed,  however,  before  steps  were  taken 
for  the  purpose  of  erecting  a  building  for  Masonic  purposes 
in  Melrose.  The  Waverley  Masonic  Association  was  chartered 
by  the  General  Court,  and  in  less  than  six  months  after  the 
disaster,  the  corner-stone  of  the  present  handsome  Masonic 
Temple  on  the  corner  of  Main  Street  and  Wyoming  Avenue 
was  laid  under  its  auspices.  The  Temple  was  duly  dedicated 
by  Masonic  ceremonies,  April  24,  1867;  and  it  has  been  sump- 
tuously furnished  for  all  Freemasonry  purposes;  and  in  it  from 
that  day  to  this,  brethren  of  the  m\'stic  tie  ha\e  met  and 
fraternized.'^ 

The  membership  of  these  three  orders  is  as  follows:  of  the 
Lodge  248,  the  Chapter  240  and  the  Encampment  323. 

Affiliated  associations  of  these  three  bodies  are:  the  Melrose 
Council    Royal    and  Select   Masters,  which  was  organized    in 

-  P'rom    The  Orii^in  and  Present  the  facts  concerning  Masonry  here 

Condition  of  Freemasonry  in  Mel-  given  are  from  this  pamphlet. 
rose.     Prepared  by  direction  of  the 

Waverley  Masonic  Association,  for  ^  After  the  Temple  and  its  furn- 

the  pnrpose  of  being  dejiosited   in  ishings  were  completed  the  Associ- 

the  Corner-  stone  of  their  new  Kdi-  ation  wasdissolved  and  the  property 

fice,   at  Melrose,  June  25th,   A.   D.  turned  over  to,  and  given  into  tl-.e 

1866,  by  Levi  S.   Gould.  Past  Mas-  jurisdiction  of  the  Wyoming  Lodgt- 

ter  of  Wyoming    Lodge.     Most    of  in  the  care  of  a  Board  of  Trustees.. 


SOCIETIES— ASSOCI A  TIONS— CLUBS. 


438 


1868,  and  has  276  members;  and  which  now  meets  in  Masonic 
Hall,  Maiden,  instead  of  Melrose,  as  formerly  and  "  Melrose 
Chapter,  Order  of  the  Eastern  Star,  No.  14,"  composed  of  the 
wives  and  daughters  of  Masons,  ori^anized  in  1881,  and  has  106 
members. 

The  names  of  the  ofificers  of  these  different  organizations, 
which  now  meet  in  Masonic  Hall,  are  as  follows:  Of  the 
Lodge;  Worshipful  Master,  Senior  Warden,  Junior  Warden, 
Treasurer,  Secretary,  Senior  Deacon,  Junior  Deacon,  Senior 
Steward,  Junior  Steward,  Marshal,  Chaplain,  Inside  Sentinel, 
Organist,  Assistant  Organist  and  Tyler. 


MASONIC  TEMPLE. 

Of  the  Chapter:  Most  Excellent  High  Priest,  Excellent 
King,  Excellent  Scribe,  Treasurer,  Secretar)-,  Chaplain,  Royal 
Arch  Captain,  Principal  Sojourner,  Master  Third  Veil,  Master 
Second  Veil,  Master  First  Veil,  Organist,  Assistant  Organist 
and  Tyler. 

Of  the  Commandery:  Eminent  Commander,  Generalissimo, 
Captain  General,  Prelate,  Senior  Warden,  Junior  Warden, 
Treasurer,  Recorder,  Standard  Bearer,  Sword  Bearer,  Warder, 
Third  Guard,  Second  Guard,  First  Guard,  Organist,  Assistant 
Organist,  Sentinel  and  Armorer. 

Of  the  p:astcrn  Star:  Worthy   Matron,  Worthy   Patron,  As- 


434  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

sociate  Matron,  Secretary,  Treasurer,  Conductress,  Associate 
Conductress,  Chaplain,  Adah,  Ruth,  Esther,  Martha,  Electa, 
Warder,  Organist  and  Sentinel. 

Independent  Order  of  Odd  Fellows,  Melrose  Lodge, 
No.  157.  This  order  of  the  three  links.  Friendship,  Love  and 
Truth,  was  instituted  October  6,  1871.  It  is  one  of  the  long 
established  and  flourishing  institutions  of  Melrose,  and  has  180 
members.     Qualification  of  membership: 

No  person  shall  be  eligible  to  membership  in  this  lodge  except  a 
free  white  male,  of  good  moral  character,  who  has  arrived  at  the  age 
of  twenty-one  years,  and  who  believes  in  a  Supreme  Being,  the  Creator 
and  Preserver  of  the  Universe.  No  saloon-keeper,  bar-tender  or  pro- 
fessional gambler  shall  be  eligible. 

The  Lodge  is  officered  as  follows:  Noble  Grand,  with  Right 
and  Left  Supporters,  Vice  Grand  with  Right  and  Left  Sup- 
porters, Past  Noble  Grand,  Recording  Secretary,  P^'inancial 
Secretary,  Treasurer,  Warden,  Conductor  and  Chaplain. 

Daughters  of  Rebekah,  Golden  Rule  Lodge,  No.  23. 
This  is  a  kindred  body,  composed  of  ladies,  and  was  organized 
in  1874  and  has  97  members.  This  is  officered  as  follows: 
Noble  Grand,  with  Right  and  Left  Supporters,  Vice  Grand, 
with  Right  and  Left  Supporters,  Past  Noble  Grand,  Secretary, 
Financial  Secretary,  Treasurer,  Conductor,  Warden,  Chaplain, 
Inside  and  Outside  Guardians.  Both  of  these  orders  meet  in 
Odd  Fellows'  Hall,  Bugbee  &  Barrett's  Block,  Main  Street. 

Melrose  Athletic  Club.  Like  most  clubs  and  organiza- 
tions, the  Melrose  Athletic  Club  began  its  existence  in  a  very 
humble  manner. 

In  November,  1883,  five  young  men  met  at  the  house  of  the 
late  Walter  Babb,  on  East  Emerson  Street.  These  were 
Frank  M.  Goss,  Rufus  W.  Smith,  Edward  E.  Babb,  Fred  M. 
Goss  and  William  J.  McCoubry.  The  Club  was  then  organized 
with  Frank  M.  Goss  as  President,  Rufus  W.  Smith  as  Vice 
President  and  Fred  M.  Goss  as  Secretary  and  Treasurer.  From 
that  time  the  numbers  increased.  A  room  was  engaged  in 
Boardman's  Block,  corner  of  Main  and  Essex  Streets,  and 
occupied  until  December,  1885,  receiving  its 'charter  mean- 
while on  October  26  of  that  jear,  when  it  moved  into  larger 
and    much    more    commodious    cpiarters   in    Eastman's   Block, 


SOCIE  TIES-  A  SSOCIA  TIONS  -   CL UBS. 


435 


Main  Street,  where  it  enjoyed  itself  in  a  gymnasium  with  all 
the  necessary  athletic  accoutrements,  including  bath  rooms. 

While  here  the  series  of  annual  minstrel  entertainments  was 
inaugurated;  and  these  have  been  given  for  seventeen  succes- 
sive seasons,  each  effort  being  received  by  enthusiastic  and 
crowded  audiences.  Good  music  always  interspersed  with 
jokes,  puns,  local  hits  and  burlesques,  which  run  riot  with  un- 
curbed license. 

For  many  years  the  Club  solicited  and  raised  the  funds,  and 
took  charge  of  the  Fourth  of  July  celebrations,  which  have 
been  the  source  of  so  much  enjoyment  to  our  citizens;  bell- 
ringing,  band  music,  athletic  sports,  ball  games,  boat  racing 
and  fire-works  furnishing  a  varied  entertainment. 

The  games  and  pastimes  of  the  Massachusetts  Inter-Club 
League,  were  inaugurated  by  the  Melrose  Athletic  Club,  a  few 
years  since,  and  are  now  enjoyed  and  participated  in  by  many 
of  the  surrounding  Clubs.  The  Club  has  had  numerous  field- 
days,  with  bicycle  races  and  athletic  sports. 

In  1894,  under  the  presidency  of  Sidney  H.  Buttrick,  who 
held  that  position  for  several  years,  steps  were  taken  for  the 
purpose  of  building  and  owning  quarters  of  their  own,  which 
resulted  in  the  large  and  commodious  brick  front  building 
now  occupied  on  Main  Street,  just  south  of  West  Foster 
Street.  It  has  a  large  hall,  gymnasium,  billiard  tables,  bowling 
alleys  and  all  the  appliances  for  the  maintenance  of  a  first- 
class  athletic  club.     Cost  of  land  and  building  $18,500. 

Its  present  membership  is  192  and  it  is  officered  as  follows: 
President,  Vice  President,  Treasurer,  Financial  Secretary, 
Clerk,  and  an  Executive  Hoard  of  three. 

The  Melrose  Club.  This  Club  was  organized  in  1889. 
The  membership  is  limited  to  two  hundred  and  fifty  persons. 
The  present  Club  Rooms  are  in  the  second 
and  third  stories  of  the  Swett  Block  on  Main 
Street,  with  a  connected  bowling  alley  in  the 
rear  of  the  building.  The  various  rooms  are 
handsomely  furnished  and  possess  every  con- 
venience for  the  enjoyment  of  the  members. 
Under  the  supervision  of  the  committee  on 
theatricals,  during  each  season,  a  number  of 
plays  are  produced  in  their  hall,  situated  in  the  third  story. 
Enjoyable  "ladies'  nights"  are  of  frec]uent  occurrence.     During 


436 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


the  Club's  life  several  receptions  of  prominent  people  have 
taken  place  ;  notably  that  of  Hon.  John  D.  Long,  Secretary  of 
the  Navy,  and  Captain  N.  Mayo  Dyer,  Commander  of  the 
U.  S.  S.  Baltimore,  under  Admiral  Dewey;  on  which  occasion 
he  told  the  story  of  the  Battle  of  Manila  Bay,  May  i,  1898, 
much  to  the  gratification  of  those  present. 

It  is  officered  by  a  President,  Vice  President,  Secretary, 
Treasurer  and  Executive  Committee  of  six. 

There  are  other  minor  committees  having  charge  of  the 
various  games  of  billiards,  bowling  and  whist. 


HOMK   OF  the;  MELROSE  CLUB. 

Under  the  auspices  of  the  Club  several  Loan  Exhibitions  of 
Amateur  Photography  have  taken  place,  on  which  occasion 
the  display  of  photographic  work  has  been  of  a  very  pleasing 
and  satisfactory  character.  Not  only  our  own  photographers 
but  others  from  surrounding  towns  and  cities  have  exhibited. 

The  Highland  Club  of  Melrose.  This  Club  occupies  its 
own  house,  situated  on  Chipman  Avenue,  at  the  Highlands 
and  was  built  in  1891,  at  a  cost  of  $24,000.  The  Club  was  first 
organized  in  that  year  as  the  Melrose  Highland  Club;  but 
reorganized  in  1894,  as  above.     It  now  has  125  members. 


50CIE  TIES— A  SSOCIA  TIONS     CL  UBS. 


437 


This  Club  House  is  complete  in  all  its  appointments;  having 
a  large  hall,  with  stage,  and  seating  capacity  for  five  hundred; 
reception  room,  ladies'  parlor,  music  room,  billiard  room,  card 
room,  four  bowling  alleys,  open  fire-places  and  other  conven- 
iences. The  stained  glass  windows  on  the  first  floor  were 
contributed  by  different  citizens;  the  one  large,  very  handsome 
one,  showing  portions  of  Melrose  Abbey,  being  the  contribu- 
tion of  the  late  Frank  A.  Messenger. 


111.  iiKiULAXi)  ci.i'H  iiorsi'; 


The  Club  is  officered  by  a  President,  Vice  President,  Secre- 
tary, Treasurer  and  eleven  Directors. 

On  the  opposite  side  of  Chipman  Avenue,  nearl)-  opposite 
the  Club  House,  is  situated  the  unit|uc  Stone  Fort,  built  by 
the  late  George  W.  Chipman,  now  the  property  of  Charles  E. 
French.  It  contains  a  bowling  alley  on  the  Street  side,  and 
therein  the  Highland  Club  organized  and  met  for  several 
months  while  the  house  was  being  built. 

This  occupies  ground  formerly  owned  by  Winthrop  Rich- 
ardson, where  stood  the  tower  seen  in  the  illustration  on   page 


438 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


125.  These  two  illustrations,  on  pp.  125,  126,  were  photo- 
graphed from  a  lithographic  plan  of  the  Vinton  farm,  which 
Mr.  Richardson  bought  and  laid  out  in  house  lots  in  1853; 
consequently  are  somewhat  indistinct. 


THK  ST(.)NK   FOKT. 


The  Bellevue  Golf  Club.  In  the  spring  of  1899.  the 
members  of  the  then  existing  Bellevue  Tennis  Club,  as  a 
nucleus,  organized  the  Bellevue  Golf  Club  which  now  has  a 
limited  membership  of  two  hundred.  It  leased  the  thirty  acres 
belonging  to  the  estate  of  the  late  Cah'in  Locke.  This 
rolling  land,  lying  between  Porter  and  Howard  .Streets,  on 
the  slope  of  Pine  or  Rattlesnake  Hill,  is  admirably  adapted 
to  this  purpose  giving  ample  scope  for  its  course  of  1845  y^'^i'ds 
with  nine  holes;  these  are  uniquely  named  as  follows:  'T.ong 
Tom,"  with  its  deep  ditch  to  cross;  "E^lbow,"  through  a  swamp; 
"The  Birches,"  through  a  small  grove  with  adjoining  swamp; 
"Grove,"  over  rocky  land  with  bushes,  hill  and  ditch;  "Over 
the  Garden  Wall,"  similar  in  character  to  the  last;  "The 
Pines,"  also  similar;  "Lookout,"  so  named  from  its  extensive 
and  excellent  view  of  the  surrounding  country;  "High  Ball,'* 
over  a  fair  green,  and  "Home,"  the  most  difficult  of  all,  with 
its  stone  walls,  trees  and  bushes.     During  the  year    1902  an 


SOCIE  TIES— A  SSOCIA  TIONS—  CL  UBS.  439 

additional  tract  of  land  containing-  25  acres  lying  between  Pine 
Hill  and  Howard  Street  was  leased  by  the  Club  thus  making 
the  length  of  run  for  the  nine  holes  2,700  yards  instead  of  i  ,845. 

During  the  summer  of  1900  a  beautiful  and  picturesque  Club 
House  was  erected,  on  a  commanding  site  on  the  side  hill. 
Its  walls  are  built  entirely  of  pasture  stones.  It  has  wide 
verandas  from  which  exquisite  views  are  to  be  enjoyed;  and 
its  interior  is  handsomely  finished  and  furnished  with  every 
convenience  for  the  indoor  entertainment  of  its  members; 
lockers  for  the  players'  paraphernalia,  and  piano  for  music  and 
dancing.     It  cost  ^1,800. 

The  Club  is  ofificered  by  a  President,  Vice  President,  Secre- 
tary, Treasurer  and  three  Directors. 

The  Menawarmet  Club,  at  the  Highlands  was  organized 
two  years  ago,  has  twenty-five  members,  and  is  ofificered  with 
a  President,  Vice  President,  Secretary  and  Treasurer. 

The  Melroser  Deutsche  Genossenschaft,  was  organized 
in  June,  1901.  Anyone  who  has  studied,  or  is  interested  in  the 
German  language,  whether  in  the  High  School  or  not,  is 
eligible  for  membership,  and  there  are  now  145  members.  Its 
object  is  "to  promote  interest  in  the  German  language  and 
literature,  and  also  to  furnish  a  common  bond  of  interest 
between  the  alumni  and  present  members  of  the  High  School." 
At  its  meetings  German  plays  and  readings  are  given,  folk- 
songs sung,  and  games  played.  It  is  ofificered  by  a  President, 
Vice  President,  Secretary,  Treasurer  and  an  Executive  Com- 
mittee. 

Faneuil  Hall  Chapter  of  the  Daughters  of  the  Amer- 
ican Revolution.  The  Faneuil  Hall  Chapter  of  the  Daughters 
of  the  American  Revolution  was  organized  in  Wakefield,  Feb- 
ruary II,  1896,  receiving  its  charter  from  the  National  Society, 
July  31,  1896.  Nearly  all  its  members,  numbering  about 
seventy,  are  residents  of  Wakefield,  Reading,  Everett,  Maiden 
and  Melrose;  about  half  of  whom  are  residents  of  our  city, 
the  next  largest  number  belonging  to  Wakefield.  The  Chapter 
holds  its  meetings  at  the  residences  of  its  members. 

Besides  the  active  members,  there  are  also,  one  life  member, 
Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore.  three  honorary  members,  Mrs.  Mary 
W.  Pratt,  Miss  Lucretia  A.  Hopkins  and  Mrs.  George  W. 
Grouard,  and  an  Orator,  Elbridge  H.  Goss,  who  is,  also,  a  life 
member. 


440  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

During  its  short  existence  the  Chapter  has  made  contribu- 
tions to  a  number  of  patriotic  objects;  among  them  a  monu- 
ment to  Mary,  the  mother  of  Washington;  the  Hancock-Clarke 
House  in  Lexington;  statue  of  Washington  to  be  presented  to 
France;  and  the  Lafayette  monument.  Also  to  the  Continental 
Hall  Fund,  and  the  monument  to  Rubena  Hyde  Walworth, 
the  soldiers'  nurse  at  Montauk. 

In  January,  1897,  a  petition  drafted  by  the  then  Regent, 
Mrs.  Ida  Farr  Miller,  was  sent  to  all  the  Massachusetts  Chap- 
ters, asking  cooperation  in  an  effort  to  have  Faneuil  Hall, 
"  The  Cradle  of  Liberty  "  —  for  which  this  chapter  was  named  — 
repaired  and  made  fire-proof  by  the  City  of  Boston;  thus  saving 
to  future  generations  that  famous  building  concerning  which 
Lafayette  said,  when  a  guest  of  the  city,  in  1824: 

The  City  of  Boston,  the  Cradle  of  Liberty ;  may  Faneuil  Hall  ever 
stand  a  monument  to  teach  the  world  that  resistance  to  oppression  is 
a  duty,  and  will,  under  true  Republican  institutions,  become  a  blessing. 

Other  patriotic  societies  became  interested  in  the  effort,  all 
of  which  culminated  in  action  being  taken  by  the  City  of 
Boston;  and  the  Hall  was  renovated,  beautified,  repaired  and 
made  fire-proof;  being  completed  during  the  year  1899. 

In  January,  1900,  the  project  of  adorning  our  handsome 
High  School  Building,  initiated  so  successfull)'  by  the  High 
School  Alumni,  was  aided  by  the  Chapter  in  a  gift  of  a  framed 
engraving  of  "  Mount  Vernon." 

On  the  24th  of  May,  1900,  the  Chapter  celebrated  a  "Mary 
A.  Livermore  Day."  The  exercises  consisted  of  the  planting 
of  a  tree  on  the  High  School  lawn,  to  be  known  as  the  "Mary 
A.  Livermore  Elm,"  the  biographical  address  for  the  occasion 
being  delivered  by  Elbridge  H.  Goss.^  The  remainder  of 
the  exercises  took  place  in  the  High  School  Hall,  and  com- 
prised addresses  by  the  Regent,  Miss  Hattie  A.  Wilkins,  the 
State  Regent,  Miss  Sara  Daggett,  Gen  Francis  G.  Appleton, 
President  of  the  Sons  of  the  Revolution,  with  a  reply  by 
Mrs.  Livermore.  These  addresses  were  interspersed  with 
vocal  selections  rendered  by  Misses  Nickerson  and  Elliott, 
and    Messrs.  William   C.   Brown    and   Flint.     A    reception    to 

^  In  the  view  of  the  High  School  buildiug,    iu   realit}^    it   is   ou   the 

Buikling,    page   199,   this  elm  tree  lawn,  near  the  street,  and  not  far 

may  be  seen.     Although  apparent-  from  the  flagpole, 
ly   near   the  main  entrance  to  the 


SOCIETIES-  ASSOCIATIONS     CLUBS.  441 

Mrs.  Livermore  followed,  which  was  participated  in  b}-  all  of 
the  speakers,  and  Admiral  N.  Mayo  Dyer,  an  invited  guest. 

A  "  Historical  Class"  for  the  study  of  the  colonial  period  of 
our  country's  history  has  been  organized  in  connection  with 
this  Chapter. 

A  very  fine  exhibit  of  colonial  and  revolutionary  relics  was 
made  by  this  Chapter  on  the  afternoon  and  evening  of  May  8, 
1901,  at  the  residence  of  Mrs.  Charles  C.  Odlin,  No.  89  West 
Emerson  Street.  In  the  collection  were  many  rare  and  valu- 
able antiques;  almost  every  member,  and  some  that  were  not 
members,  contributed  interesting  relics  and  souvenirs  of  those 
periods.  Addresses  appropriate  to  the  occasion,  were  made 
by  James  J.  Myers,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representatives, 
Mrs.  Mar\'  A.  Li\-ermorc,  and  Representatives  Odlin,  of  Lynn, 
and  Adams  of  our  Cit\'. 

It  is  ofificered  as  follows:  Regent,  Vice  Regent,  Recording 
Secretary,  Corresponding  Secretary,  Treasurer,  Registrar,  His- 
torian, and  four  Directors.  There  are  four  standing  commit- 
tees: Historical,  Social,  Music,  and  Program. 

Deliverance  Munroe  Chapter  of  the  Daughters  of 
THE  Revolution.  Another  patriotic  society,  affiliated  with 
our  city,  is  the  Deliverance  Munroe  Chapter  of  the  Daughters 
of  the  Revolution,  which  was  organized  March  9,  1897,  and 
which  has  thirty  members  living  in  Maiden,  Everett  and  Mel- 
rose. Like  the  former  it  has  monthly  meetings  at  the  resi- 
dences of  its  members.  During  the  year  1900,  it  placed  a 
bronze  tablet  on  the  Deliverance  Munroe  homestead  in  Lex- 
ington, at  a  cost  of  S50,  and  it  has  raised  the  sum  of  $25  for 
the  Valley  Forge  Memorial,  which  cost  ^5,000,  all  of  which 
was  raised  by  the  Daughters  of  the  Revolution.  On  each 
Memorial  Day  the  Chapter  decorates  the  graves  of  the  fifty  or 
more  Revolutionary  heroes  who  are  buried  in  the  Wyoming, 
Forest  Dale  and  Bell  Rock  Cemeteries. 

At  its  last  monthly  meeting  it  was  unanimously  voted  to 
appeal  by  petition  to  the  Maiden  city  government  to  have 
"Bell  Rock,"  on  Main  Street,  where  hung  the  bell  of  its  first 
church,  preserved  as  one  of  Maiden's  historic  spots. 

It  is  of^cered  as  follows:  Regent,  Secretary,  Treasurer,  His- 
torian, and  an  Executive  Board  of  eight. 

For  the  purpose  of  fostering  patriotism  among  the  children, 
a  new  organization  has  been  established;  and  on  February  11, 


442 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


1898,  the  "Children  of  the  Revolution:  Wyoming  Society," 
was  formed  with  fifteen  members,  soon  after  increased  to 
twenty-seven  members  and  it  is  officered  as  follows:  President, 
Vice  President,  Secretary,  Treasurer  and  Registrar. 

Melrose  Sons  and  Daughters  of  Maine.  This  Society 
was  organized  January  10,  1895.  ^^  was  formed  for  the  pur- 
pose of  promoting  social  intercourse 
among  its  members.  Natives  of 
Maine  above  the  age  of  eighteen 
years  and  residing  in  Melrose,  as 
also  the  wife  or  husband  of  such 
natives  so  residmg  are  eligible  to 
membership.  The  present  number 
of  members  is  one  hundred  and  sev- 
enty-five. It  is  officered  as  follows: 
President,  Vice  President,  Secretary, 
Treasurer  and  an  Executive  Committee  of  twelve,  all  chosen 
annually. 

The  Amateur  Gardeners'  Society.  This  Society  was 
formed  for  the  advacement  of  the  cultivation  of  fruits,  flowers 
and  vegetables,  and  has  done  much  to  further  that  object.  It 
was  organized  April  22,  1895,  ^"d  has  100  members.  It  holds 
two  exhibitions  annually;  the  Rose  Show  in  June,  and  the 
Flower,  Fruit  and  Vegetable  one  in  the  autumn.  It  is  officered 
by  a  President,  Vice  President,  Secretary,  Treasurer  and  a 
Board  of  nine  Directors. 

The  United  Boys'  Brigade  of  America.  The  first  organi- 
zation of  this  kind  was  formed  in  Glasgow,  Scotland,  in  1883; 
in  America  in  1890,  at  San  Francisco,  Cal.  In  1895  a  union 
was  affected  of  all  Boys'  Brigades  in  the  United  States,  under 
the  name  of  the  United  Boys'  Brigades  of  America.  In  the 
early  summer  of  1902,  a  Boys'  Brigade  was  formed  at  the 
Highlands,  in  connection  with  the  Highlands  Congregational 
Church,  and  now  has  115  members,  divided  into  three  compa- 
nies, A,  B  and  C,  belonging  to  the  6th  Regiment,  ist  Battalion. 
Elach  member  takes  the  following  pledge: 

I  promise  and  pledge  that  I  will  not  use  tobacco  or  intoxicating 
liquor  in  any  form;  that  I  will  not  use  profane,  vulgar  or  indecent 
language ;  that  I  will  obey  faithfully  all   the  Company  rules,  and  that 


SOCIETIES^ASSOCIATIONS     CLUBS.  443 

I  will,  at  all  times,  set  an  example  of  good  conduct  to  my  comrades 
and  other  boys. 

The  companies  arc  ofificerecl  by  a  Commandant,  Captain,  First 
and  Second  Lieutenants,  five  Sergeants  and  four  Corporals. 

FRATERNAL    SOCIETIES  —  INSURANCE    AND    BENEVOLENT. 

Melrose  has  many  beneficiar\-  and  fraternal  societies. 

Royal  Arcanum,  Bethlehem  Council,  No.  131.  This  was 
organized  in  1876,  and  has  209  members.  Its  officers  are: 
Regent,  Vice  Regent,  Past  Regent,  Orator,  Secretary'.  Collector, 
Treasurer,  Chaplain,  Guide,  Warden  and  Sentrx',  with  three 
Trustees. 

Knights  of  Honor,  Guardian  Lodge  No.  406.  Organ- 
ized in  1876.  Has  51  members.  Its  of^cers  are,  Dictator, 
Vice  Dictator,  Past  Dictator,  Reporter,  Financial  Reporter, 
Treasurer,  Guide,  Chaplain,  Guardian  and  Sentinel. 

American  Legion  of  Honor,  Washington  Council,  No.  89. 
Organized  in  1880.  Number  of  members  twenty-three.  Its 
officers  are  Commander,  Vice  Commander,  Past  Commander, 
Orator,  Chaplain,  Secretary,  Treasurer,  Collector,  Guide, 
Warden  and  Sentry. 

United  Order  of  the  Golden  Cross,  Melrose  Com- 
mandery,  No.  99.  Organized  in  1880.  Has  sixty-four  mem- 
bers. Its  officers:  Noble  Commander,  Past  Noble  Commander, 
Vice  Noble  Commander,  Keeper  of  Records,  P'inancial  Keeper 
of  Records,  Treasurer,  Worthy  Prelate,  Worthy  Herald,  Warder 
of  Inner  and  Outer  Gates. 

Ancient  Order  of  United  Workmen,  Garfield  Lodge, 
No.  32.  Organized  in  1881.  Has  167  members.  Its  officers: 
Master  Workman,  Past  Master  Workman,  Foreman,  Overseer, 
Recorder,  Receiver,  Financier,  Guide,  Inside  and  Outside  War- 
dens and  three  Trustees. 

Odd  Ladies,  Lincoln  Lodge,  No.  33.  This  was  instituted 
at  Melrose  Highlands,  March  19,  1895,  ^^^  ^^^s  51  mem- 
bers. It  is  officered  as  follows:  Worthy  Noble  Lady,  Worthy 
Vice  Noble  Lad>-,  Worthy  Treasurer,  Worthy  Financial  and 
Recording  .Secretaries,  Worthy  Lady  Reporter,  Worthy  Chap- 
lain, Worthy  Guardian,  three  Trustees,  and  Senior  and  junior 
Reprcsentatixes. 


444 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


Foresters  of  America,  Court  Pride  of  Melrose,  No. 
107.  Instituted  October  30,  1895.  Has  130  members.  It  is 
officered  as  follows:  Chief  Ranger,  Sub  Chief  Ranger,  Record- 
ing Secretary,  Financial  Secretary,  Treasurer,  Senior  Wood- 
ward, Junior  Woodward,  Senior  Beadle,  Junior  Beadle, 
Physician,  Lecturer  and  three  Trustees. 


Knights  of  Columbus, 
Melrose  Council,  No.  128. 
Organized  June  16,  1895. 
Number  of  members  97.  Its 
officers  are  chosen  annually. 
They  are  as  follows:  Grand 
Knight,  Deputy  Grand 
Knight,  Chancellor,  Record- 
ing Secretary,  Financial  Sec- 
tary, Treasurer,  Warden, 
Advocate,  Lecturer,  Physi- 
cian, Chaplain,  Inside  Guard, 
Outside  Guard,  and  three 
Trustees. 


Knights  of  Malta,  Rhodes  Commandery.  This  order  was 
organized  in  February,  1902,  and  has  fifty-three  members.  It 
is  officered  by  a  Sir  Knight  Commander,  Generalissimo, 
Captain  General,  Recorder,  Assistant  Recorder,  Treasurer, 
Senior  and  Junior  Warden,  Chaplain,  and  two  Inside  and  two 
Outside  Guards. 

The  Robert  Emmet  Branch  of  the  Irish  National 
Foresters,  was  organized  February  25,  1902.  It  has  forty-fiv^e 
members.  It  is  officered  by  a  Chief  Ranger,  Sub  Chief  Ranger, 
Treasurer,  Financial  Secretary,  Assistant  Secretary,  Senior  and 
Junior  Woodwards,  and  Senior  and  Junior  Beadles.  May  4, 
1902,  the 

Sarah  Curran  Branch,  was  organized,  consisting  of  ladies, 
and  has  fifty  members.  Its  officers  bear  the  same  names  as 
the  above. 

American  Benefit  Society,  Melrose  Lodge,  No.  126. 
Was  organized  December  31,  1898.  It  has  fourteen  members. 
It    is    officered    as  follows:    President,  Vice   President,  Junior 


SOCIETIES     ASSOCIATIONS-^CLUBS.  445 

Past   President,  Secretary,  Treasurer,  Collector,  Orator,  Chap- 
lain, Warden,  Sentry  and  three  Trustees. 

Star  of  Melrose,  Loyal  Okange  Lodge,  No.  353.  This 
organization  was  formed  in  1896  and  has  sixty  members.  It 
is  officered  as  follows:  Master,  Deputy  Master,  Secretary, 
Treasurer,  Chaplain,  Director  of  Ceremonies,  Inside  and  Out- 
side Tylers,  Committee  on  Finance  and  three  Trustees. 

New  England  Order  of  Protection,  Wyoming  Lodge,  No. 
365,  was  organized  November,  1900,  and  has  seventy  members. 
It  is  officered  as  follows:  Warden,  Junior  Past  Warden,  Vice 
Warden,  Secretary,  F"inancial  Secretary,  Treasurer,  Guardian, 
Sentinel  and  three  Trustees. 

The  Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  Division  No.  48,  was 
organized  in  December,  1900,  and  has  eighty-two  members. 
It  has  a  President,  Vice  President,  Secretary,  Treasurer,  Ser- 
geant-at-Arms,  and  Sentinel.  The  Ladies'  Auxiliary  to  this 
order  was  organized  a  year  later  and  has  fifty  members. 

Carpenters  and  Joiners  of  America,  Melrose  Union.  No. 
760.  Organized  in  March,  1901,  and  has  80  members.  It  has 
the  following  officers:  President,  Vice  President,  Financial 
Secretary,  Recording  Secretary,  Treasurer,  Warden,  Con- 
ductor, three  Auditors  and  two  Trustees. 

Knights  of  Pythias,  Fordell  Lodge, 
No.  115,  was  organized  by  James  W. 
Murray,  and  instituted  February  19,  1895. 
It  has  over  one  hundred  members.  This 
order  is  founded  on  Friendship,  Charity 
and  Benevolence,  and  a  part  of  its  "  Dec- 
laration of  Principles"  is  as  follows: 

Pythian  Knighthood  had  its  conception  in 
the  exemplification  of  the  life-test  of  true  friend- 
ship existing  between  Damon  and  Pythias. 
Friendship,  or  mutual  confidence,  being  the  strongest  bond  of  union 
between  man  and  man,  and  only  existing  where  honor  has  an  abiding 
place,  is  adopted  as  a  foundation  principle. 

It  is  officered  as  follows:  Chancellor  Commander,  Vice 
Chancellor,  Prelate,  Master  of  Exchequer,  Master  of  Finance, 
Keeper  of  Records  and  Seal,  Master  at  Arms,  Master  of  Work, 
Inner  and  Outer  Guards,  three  Trustees,  and  two  Representa- 
tives to  the  Grand  Lodge. 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

POLITICAL. 

AUSTRALIAN  BALLOT  FOR  TOWN  ELECTIONS. 

AT  a  Town   Meeting  held   February  i6,  1891,  it  was  voted 
to  accept  the  provisions  of  Chapter  386,  Acts  of  1890,  as 
amended  by  the  Legislature  of  1891.     This  related  to 
the  printing  and  distributing  of  ballots  for  Town  Elections  at 
the  public  expense,  known  as  the  Australian  ballot  law  appli- 
cable to  Town  elections.     Under  this  action  it  was  voted: 

That  the  Town  elect  by  ballot,  under  the  provisions  of  law  which 
have  been  accepted,  the  following  officers,  the  number  of  each  Board 
and  terms  of  office  of  which  shall  be  as  follows :  A  Board  of  Select- 
men consisting  of  three  persons  to  be  elected  annually,  one  Town 
Clerk,  one  Treasurer,  and  one  Collector  of  Taxes,  to  be  elected  annu- 
ally, a  Board  of  three  Assessors  to  be  elected  as  provided  by  Chapter 
27,  Sections  65,  66,  67  and  68,  Public  Statutes,  a  Board  of  Water  Com- 
missioners consisting  of  three  persons,  one  of  whom  shall  be  elected 
annually  for  three  years,  a  Board  of  Water  Loan  Sinking  Fund  Com- 
missioners, consisting  of  three  persons,  one  of  whom  shall  be  elected 
annually  for  three  years,  a  School  Committee  consisting  of  six  persons, 
two  of  whom  shall  be  elected  annually  for  three  years,  a  Board  of 
Trustees  of  the  Public  Library  consisting  of  five  persons  to  be  elected 
annually,  one  Auditor  to  be  elected  annually,  a  Board  of  Overseers  of 
the  Poor  consisting  of  three  persons  to  be  elected  as  provided  by 
Chapter  27,  Sections  69,  70,  71,  72  and  73,  Public  Statutes,  a  Board  of 
Health  consisting  of  three  persons  to  be  elected  for  the  current  year, 
one  for  three  years,  one  for  two  years,  and  one  for  one  year,  and 
annually  thereafter  there  shall  be  elected  one  person  for  three  years,  a 
Board  of  Park  Commissioners  consisting  of  three  persons,  one  of 
whom  shall  be  elected  annually  for  three  years,  and  four  Constables  to 
be  elected  annually. 

February  3,  1893,  it  was  voted: 

That  the  number  of  selectmen  be  hereafter  five,  to  be  elected 
annually. 


POLITICAL.  447 

The  same  year  the  number  of  Trustees  of  the  Public  Library 
was  chan<^ecl  from  five  to  six,  two  to  be  elected  annually  for 
three  N-ears. 

Precincts  and  Wards.  At  a  Town  Meeting  held  April  28, 
1893,  the  Selectmen  made  a  report  of  their  division  of  the 
Town  into  three  voting  precincts  which  was  adopted.  It  gave 
the  boundaries  with  the  nuniber  of  legal  voters  in  each.  Pre- 
cinct No.  I  was  in  the  northerly  part  of  the  Town,  and  then 
contained  402  legal  voters;  No.  2  in  the  central,  with  925 
voters,  and  No.  3  in  the  southerly  portion  with  687  voters. 
This  was  a  total  of  2014  legal  voters  at  this  date.  P^ach  pre- 
cinct had  a  Warden,  Deputy  Warden,  Clerk,  Deputy  Clerk, 
two  or  more  Inspectors,  two  or  more  Deputy  Inspectors,  and 
Tellers,  who  were  appointed  by  the  Selectmen  each  year,  until 
we  became  a  City,  when  in  October  1899,  it  was  again  divided 
by  the  Selectmen  into  seven  Wards,  in  conformity  with  the 
provisions  of  the  Charter;  and  these  Wards  were  ofificered  as 
follows:  Warden,  Deputy  Warden,  Clerk,  Deputy  Clerk,  four 
Inspectors  and  four  Deputy  Inspectors. 

Parties.  The  two  principal  political  parties.  Republican 
and  Democratic,  are  conducted  b\'  the  usual  party  organiza- 
tions. For  several  years  an  annually  elected  Town  Committee, 
and  afterwards  the  Republican  Club  —  organized  in  1887  — 
had  the  general  management  of  all  matters  pertaining  to  the 
caucuses  and  conventions  of  the  Republican  party,  as  did  the 
Committees  and  Club  for  the  Democratic  party.  But  now  the 
management  of  each  party  is  gi\'en  over  to  the  City  Commit- 
tees; that  of  the  Republican  consisting  of  35  members,  five 
from  each  ward,  and  that  of  the  Democratic  of  21  members, 
three  from  each  ward;  each  one  being  governed  by  the  State 
caucus   law. 

Besides  the  general  City  Committees,  many  of  the  wards 
have  also  a  separate  political  organization. 

The  Prohibition,  Socialist  Labor  and  Democratic  Socialist 
parties,  although  throwing  a  small  vote,  has  each  an  organ- 
ization, and  nominates  candidates  for  a  portion  of  the  officers  at 
each  State  election. 

During  the  stirring  times  previous  to  the  Civil  War,  another 
Republican  Club  was  formed  in  Melrose  for  the  purpose  of 
aiding  the  election  of  Lincoln  and  Hamlin  as  President  and 
Vice  President  of  the  United  .States.     A  committee  appointed 


448  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

for    the    purpose    submitted    the    following   document  setting 
forth  its  principals: 

The  Republicans  of  Melrose  believing  that  the  National  Govern- 
ment should  be  rescued  from  the  hands  of  a  corrupted  Administration, 
which  has  prostituted  its  powers  to  furiher  the  selfish  ends  of  a  sec- 
tional Oligarchy  alone ;  exhausted  its  treasury  to  reward  its  venal 
partizans  and  poisoned  the  sources  of  government  by  wholesale  cor- 
ruption and  fraud  at  the  ballot  box ;  and  that  the  reins  of  government 
should  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  honest  men  who  shall  guide  the 
course  of  our  country's  progress  in  the  paths  marked  out  by  the 
wisdom  of  the  Fathers  of  the  Constitution,  and  conduct  their  Adminis- 
tration with  the  prudence  and  purity  that  characterized  the  early  days 
of  the  Republic ;  and  wishing  to  join  our  united  forces  in  aid  of  so 
glorious^an  object,  hereby  organize  ourselves  for  the  ensuing  political 
campaign,  under  the  following  provisions: 

This  Association  shall  be  known  as  the  Melrose  Wide  Awake  Club 
and  all  Melrose  Republicans  shall  be  considered  as  members  on  sign- 
ing the  Constitution  thereof.  Its  object  is  to  arouse  and  sustain  the 
interest  of  its  members  and  others  in  the  political  questions  of  the 
day;  to  discuss  the  fundamental  principals  of  free  government  and 
their  application  in  the  constitution  of  our  country  and  the  doctrines 
of  the  Republican  Party  which  are  founded  thereon ;  and  by  all  fair 
and  honorable  means  in  our  power  to  labor  for  and  promote  the  triumph 
of  these  principles,  and  secure  the  election  of  Abraham  Lincoln  of 
Illinois  for  President  of  these  United  States,  and  Hannibal  Hamlin  of 
Maine  as  Vice  President  of  the  same,  and  all  regularly  nominated 
Representatives  of  these  principles  at  the  ensuing  elections. 

The  officers  of  this  Association  shall  be  a  President,  and  five  Vice 
Presidents,  one  of  whom  shall  preside  at  each  meeting;  a  Recording 
Secretary,  who  shall  record  the  proceedings  of  the  Association  in  a 
suitable  book  provided  for  this  especial  purpose ;  a  Corresponding 
Secretary  who  shall  conduct  and  preserve  its  correspondence ;  a  Treas- 
urer, who  shall  keep  the  funds  and  defray  the  expenses  of  the  Associa- 
tion; and  an  Executive  Committee  of  nine  who  shall  make  the 
necessary  arrangements  for  public  meetings,  invite  speakers,  arrange 
discussions,  provide  music  and  manage  the  business  affairs  of  the 
Association.  The  President,  Vice  Presidents  and  Corresponding 
Secretary  shall  be  ex-officio  members  of  the  Elxecutive  Committee. 

G.  Lamkin, 
P.  B.  Holmes, 
J.  W.  Jones. 

The  records,  giving  officers,  names  and  proceedings,  have 
been  swept  into  the  oblivion  of  the  past;  but  it  is  remembered 
by  many  that  it  was  a  very  active  and  influential  body  of  our 


POLITICAL.  449 

prominent  citizens  of  that  period  so  freighted  with  most 
important  consequences.  In  connection  with  this  Club  was  a 
company  of  mounted  Wide  Awakes,  and  both  foot  and  horse 
appropriately  uniformed,  took  part  in  the  numerous  night 
parades  of  those  exciting  times  in  Boston,  our  own  and  the 
surrounding  towns. 

Another  organization  which  was  formed  during  the  turmoil 
of  the  Civil  War,  was  the  Union  League,  Council  No.  87,  which 
had  a  large  membership  during  its  existence,  and  was  largely 
instrumental  in  shaping  the  policy  of  the  Town   while  in  the 
thrall  of  those  troublous  times.     It  was  formed  October    21, 
1863,  and    its  officers    were:  Napoleon    B.  Bryant,  President 
William    F.    Poole    and    Augustus    Durant,   Vice     Presidents 
Daniel  W.  Wilcox,  Treasurer;  Elbridge    H.  Goss,  Secretary 
George   F.  Stone,  Marshal;  Thomas  W.  Chadbourne,  Herald 
Rev.  George  Prentice,  Chaplain,  and  Wingate  P.  Sargent,  John 
Crocker  and  David  A.  Alden,  Finance  Committee. 

The  Municipal  League  of  Melrose.  This  was  organized 
October  4.  1897.  Its  object  as  stated  in  its  By-Laws,  is  as 
follows:  "The  purpose  of  the  League  shall  be  to  secure  the 
nomination  and  election  of  proper  candidates  for  municipal 
offices;  to  advocate  and  promote  a  public  service  based  upon 
character  and  capability  only;  to  promote  intelligent  discus- 
sion of  municipal  affairs  by  the  publication  and  distribution  of 
reliable  information  in  relation  thereto;  and  to  procure  the 
punishment  of  all  persons  who  may  be  guilty  of  election 
frauds,  maladministration  of  office,  or  misappropriation  of 
public  funds."  It  is  officered  by  a  President,  three  Vice  Presi- 
dents, a  Treasurer,  Secretary,  Auditor  and  an  Executive  Com- 
mittee of  fifteen,  with  the  other  officers  as  members  ex-officio. 

Present  number  of  members  two  hundred. 

The  Public  Franchise  League  of  Melrose.  This  organi- 
zation was  formed  April  23.  1902,  with  the  following  officers: 
President,  John  G.  Robinson;  Secretary,  Victor  A.  Friend; 
Executive  Committee,  Charles  C.  Barry,  William  A.  Carrie. 
Arthur  M.  Willis,  Henry  Brown  and  Edwin  S.  Small. 

The  principal  object  of  this  League  is  to  take  charge  and 
present  all  the  interests  pertaining  to  public  franchises;  as 
that  is  a  question  that  will  be  before  the  people  for  many  years 
to  come. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

THE    WIDENING    OF    MAIN    STREET. 

THIS  good  work  began  in  1888,  when  the  County  Com- 
missioners ordered  Main  Street  to  be  widened  from 
Mt.  Vernon  Street  to  Maiden  line.  An  appropriation 
was  made  at  the  November  meeting,  and  the  next  year  the 
street  was  regraded  and  widened  at  a  cost  of  $3,770.33,  ;?6oo  of 
which  was  paid  by  the  County  Commissioners.  At  a  subse- 
quent meeting  $950  was  appropriated  to  build  a  sidewalk  from 
Masonic  Hall  to  Maiden  line.  In  1891,  a  movement  was 
begun  to  have  the  widening  of  Main  Street  continued  through 
the  centre  of  the  town.  As  it  was  seen  that  this  would  be 
quite  an  expensive  work,  it  met  with  serious  opposition;  but 
now  that  it  has  been  accomplished,  everybody  is  sati*sfied  that 
it  was  a  very  wise  and  beneficial  transaction.  The  beauty  of 
the  street  is  greatly  enhanced,  trade  is  better  accommodated 
and  the  public  buildings  seen  to  much  better  advantage. 

The  prime  mover  in  this  great  |niblic  improvement  was 
.Sidney  H.  Buttrick.  He  drew  up,  circulated,  presented  and 
urged  the  importance  of  this  matter  before  the  County  Com- 
missioners.    The  petition  was  as  follows: 

To  the  Comity  Cominissioucrs  of  t/ie  Comity  of  Midd/esex  : 

We  the  undersigned,  citizens  of  the  Town  of  Melrose,  do  hereby 
petition  your  honorable  board  to  widen,  straighten  and  relocate  the 
lines  of  Main  Street  in  said  Town  of  Melrose  from  Mt.  Vernon  Street 
northerly  to  its  junction  with  Lebanon  and  Green  Streets. 

Sidney  H.  Buttrick,  George  W'.  Bartlett, 

Joseph  D.  Wilde,  William  N.  Folsom, 

Fernando  C.  Taylor,  John  O.  Norris, 

Washburn  Emery,  Addison  Lane, 

George  R.  Jones,  Julius  S.  Clark, 

George  \^■ .  White,  Clinton  White, 

William  L.  Bacall,  A.  Selwyn  Lynde, 


MISCELLANEOUS. 


451 


Charles  B.  Goss, 
George  W.  Dew, 
Oscar  F.  Frost, 
Jeremiah  L.  Hanaford, 
Charles  E.  Newhall, 
John  Larrabee, 
Jonathan  C.  Howes, 
M.  Frank  Eastman, 
William  P.  Cook, 
Charles  C.  Odlin, 
Samuel  C.  Hallett, 
Andrew  L.  Maclachlan, 
Henry  W.  Woodward, 
Julian  S.  Cutler, 
L.  Frank  Hincklej', 
Alonzo  A.  Luce, 
Thomas  J.  Ryder, 
Henry  G.  Fields,  Jr., 

Fred  H. 


Henry  K.  Johnson, 
Henry  Brown, 
Jesse  A.  Dill, 
George  W.  Burke, 
George  Newhall, 
Walter  C.  Stevens, 
Elbridge  H.  Goss, 
Charles  W.  Ellison, 
Albon  W.  Parker, 
Robert  Philpot, 
William  H.  Mitchell, 
George  T.  Brown, 
Allen  C.  Goss, 
Albert  H.  Armington, 
Charles  F.  Loring, 
William  L.  Pratt, 
Charles  M.  Field. 
Frank  L.  Washburn, 
Morse. 


In  January,  1892,  the  County  Commissioners,  having  received 
this  petition,  and  given  the  subject  due  consideration,  issued 
an  order  to  widen  and  build  Main  Street  from  Mt.  Vernon  to 
the  junction  of  Lebanon,  Porter,  Main  and  Green  Streets  to 
the  width  of  sixty  feet.  The  work  was  done,  all  claims  for 
damages  consequent  thereto  adjusted  and  paid,  and  the  total 
cost  to  the  Town  was  §15,924.87,  and  to  the  County  ^6,500,  as 
follows: 

Land  damages, 515,801.57 

Labor, 5.092-97 

Counsel  fees, i. 250.00 

Court  fees, 280.33 


Less  amount  received  from  the  County, 
Total  cost  to  the  Town, 


$22,424.87 
6,500.00 

Si  5.924.87 


THE    B:[.KAN0K    liKOWX    TOO  IHAKl'.K    1UM>. 

Mrs.  Eleanor  Brown  Toothaker  died  March  2,  1893,  leaving 
a  legacy  for  "the  needy  poor  of  Melrose."  l^efore  the  exact 
amount  dependent  upon  the  settlement  of  her  estate  was  ascer- 
tained, $1,000  was  paid  over'  to  the  Town,  by  the  executor  of 


452  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

her  will,  George  Newhall,  in  1895;  and  at  a  Town  Meeting  held 
March  26,  1896,  the  following  vote  was  passed  unanimously: 

That  the  Town  express  its  appreciation  of  the  bequest  of  Eleanor 
Brown  Toothaker,  by  rising ;  and  that  the  one  thousand  dollars 
($1,000)  received,  and  all  money  which  shall  be  hereafter  received 
under  her  will,  constitute  and  be  named  "  The  Eleanor  Brown  Tooth- 
aker Fund,"  to  he  kept  separate  from  the  poor  department  appropria- 
tion ;  and  that  the  same  be  expended,  with  any  income  which  may  be 
received  on  the  same,  for  the  needy  poor  of  this  Town,  by  the  over- 
seers of  the  poor,  as  provided  in  her  will. 

There  was  afterwards  added  to  this  fund  when  the  estate 
was  settled  the  sum  of  $922,  making  a  total  bequest  of  ^1,922. 
The  income  to  January  i,  1902,  has  been  ;?26i.98,  and  there 
has  been  expended  according  to  provisions  of  the  will,  $764.06; 
leaving  a  balance  at  that  date  of  $1,419.92, 

MEMORIAL    SERVICES. 

Abraham  Lincoln  was  assassinated  April  14,  1865,  by  John 
Wilkes  Booth.  United  memorial  services  were  held  in  the 
Orthodox  Congregational  Church,  April  19,  with  addresses  by 
Rev.  Henry  A.  Stevens,  Rev.  Henry  Baker  and  Rev.  William 
S.  Barnes;  interspersed  with  music,  prayer  and  Scripture 
reading.     For  full  account  see  Melrose  Memorial,  pp.  210-218. 

James  Abram  Garfield  was  shot  July  2,  1881,  by  Charles 
J.  Guiteau,  and  died  September  19,  1881.  Under  the  auspices 
of  the  Selectmen,  memorial  services  were  held  in  Town 
Hall,  September  26,  when  addresses  were  made  by  the  local 
pastors,  Reverends  Robert  F.  Tolman,  William  Butler,  D.  D., 
Albert  G.  Bale,  Richard  Eddy,  D.  D.,  John  G.  Taylor,  Father 
O'Farrell,  Charles  L.  Short,  Henry  Westcott,  Hon.  Daniel 
W.  Gooch  and  Mrs.  Mary  A.  Livermore,  with  appropriate 
music,  prayer  and  Scripture  reading;  also  a  series  of  resolu- 
tions presented  by  Walter  Babb.  A  full  account  of  these 
exercises  was  given  in  the  Melrose  yoiirnal,  September  30, 
1881,  and  reprinted  twenty  years  later,  with  comments,  in  the 
Journal  oi  September  27,  1901. 

Ulysses  S.  Grant.  Another  solemn  memorial  service  took 
place  in  the  Town  Hall,  August  8,  1885,  under  the  auspices  of 
the  Selectmen,  on  the  occasion  of  the  death  of  General  Ulysses 
S.  Grant,  who  died  at  Mount  Gregor,  New  York,  July  23,  1885. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  458 

The  hall  was  heavily  draped.  An  account  of  these  memorial 
services  is  given  on  pp.  255-6.  In  addition  to  what  is  there 
stated  a  hymn,  "Low  Lies  our  Captain,"  written  by  Mrs. 
Livermore,  was  suns^"  by  the  choir,  selected  for  these  services, 
under  the  leadership  of  Samuel  S.  Preble,  Jr. 

A  full  account  of  these  services  was  issued  in  pamphlet 
form,  by  the  late  William  L.  Williams,  the  then  proprietor  of 
the  Melrose  yojtmal. 

William  McKixlky  was  assassinated  September  6,  1901,  by 
Leon  Czolgosz,  and  died  September  14,  following.  Memorial 
exercises  were  held  under  the  auspices  of  the  City  Government, 
in  the  City  Hall,  September  i8th,  when  there  was  an  address 
by  His  Honor,  Mayor  John  Larrabee.  and  a  eulog>'  by  Hon. 
Charles  J.  Noyes.  Prayer  by  Rev.  Thomas  Sims,  D.  U., 
reading  of  Scripture  by  Rev.  Edwin  C.  Bolles.  D.  D.,  and  music 
by  the  Melrose  High  School  choir  of  young  ladies.  A  full 
account  of  these  services  was  given  in  the  local  papers  under 
date  of  September  20  and  27.  Memorial  exercises  were  held 
in  all  of  the  churches  on  the  Sundays  of  September  16  and 
22,  with  sermons  by  the  various  pastors;  exercises  were  held 
also  by  many  of  the  other  local  organizations. 

THE    STARS    AND    STKIPKS. 

On  March  2-],  1895,  the  Legislature  passed  an  act  making  it 
obligatory  upon  the  school  committees  of  the  several  cities 
and  towns,  to  provide  for  each  schoolhouse  in  which  public 
schools  are  maintained, 

a  United  States  flag  of  silk  or  bunting,  not  less  than  four  feet  in 
length,  and  a  suitable  flagstaff,  or  other  apparatus,  whereby  such  flag 
may  be  displayed  on  the  schoolhouse  grounds,  or  schoolhouse  build- 
ing, every  school  day,  when  weather  will  permit,  and  on  the  inside  on 
other  school  days. 

Five  years  before  this  date,  this  patriotic  movement  had  been 
engendered  and  encouraged,  and  the  project  accomplished  in 
Melrose,  as  will  be  seen  by  the  following  circular,  the  issuing 
of  which  met  with  a  hearty  response  from  our  citizens,  and 
flags  were  provided  for  all  our  schoolhouses: 

Melrose,  January  )S,  1890. 
Mv  Dear  Sir:  —  There  is  a  movement   being  made  just  now  to 


454  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

have  placed  upon  every  public  school  building  in  Massachusetts  the 
United  States  flag,  as  an  ever  present  object  lesson  to  our  children. 
Melrose  cannot  afford  for  her  own  or  her  children's  sake  to  be  behind 
in  this  grand  movement,  and  as  there  are  no  public  funds  available 
for  their  purchase,  you  are  invited  to  contribute  the  sum  of  $i.oo, 
(or  more)  towards  supplying  every  school  building  in  Melrose  with  a 
flag. 

We  propose  to  have  a  Grand  Flag  Presentation  on  Washington's 
Birthday,  at  the  Town  Hall,  that  shall  cause  a  wave  of  patriotism, 
both  inspiring  and  helpful,  to  roll  over  our  fair  town.  The  movement 
has  the  cordial  endorsement  of  the  School  Committee,  who  have 
voted  "  to  erect  staffs  for  all  flags  presented." 

All  money  received  will  be  acknowledged  with  name  of  contributor,^ 
in  the  Me/rose  Journal.  Kindly  reply  at  once,  enclosing  your  contri- 
bution in  enclosed  stamped  envelope,  and  oblige 

Truly  yours, 

F.  P.  SHU>nvAY,  Jr., 

For  Committee. 

This  was  a  Citizens'  Committee,  organized  for  this  purpose, 
consisting  of  Mr.  Shumway,  Moses  S.  Page  and  Charles  W. 
Cochrane.  The  late  Major  W.  Irving  Ellis  at  once  donated  a 
handsome  flag  for  our  High  School;  the  late  Joseph  D.  Wilde, 
Hon.  William  E.  Barrett  and  the  U.  S.  Grant  Post  4,  G.  A.  R., 
each  gave  one,  and  popular  subscriptions  furnished  the  rest. 
As  indicated  in  the  circular,  these  flags  were  presented  to  the 
public  schools  on  Washington's  Birthday,  February  22,  1890. 
The  exercises  took  place  in  Town  Hall,  under  the  auspices 
of  the  Melrose  Republican  Club,  George  T.  Brown,  President, 
which  had  contemplated  doing  by  itself,  what  was  afterwards 
done  by  the  citizens,  the  Club  heartily  uniting  in  the  move- 
ment. 

The  scholars  from  the  public  schools  were  present.  Mr. 
Shumway  made  a  report  for  the  Citizens'  Committee.  Music 
for  the  occasion  was  furnished  by  the  Melrose  Choral  Society. 
The  flags  were  accepted  for  the  different  schools,  by  John  O. 
Norris,  Chairman  of  the  School  Committee. 

CURFEW    BELL. 

The  good  old  custom  of  "ryngging  ye  curfewe,"  is  being- 
revived  throughout  the  land.  Particularl}^  is  this  the  case  in 
many  of  the  towns  and  cities  in  the  west,  where  ordinances 
have  been  adopted  requiring  all   children  under  sixteen  years 


MISCELLANEOUS.  455 

of  age  to  leave  the  streets  at  the  ringing  of  the  niiie  o'clock 
bell,  unless  accompanied  by  parents  or  guardians,  or  on 
errands,  in  which  case  they  must  not  loiter.  The  penalty  in 
the  City  of  Yankton,  South  Dakota,  is:  "First  offence,  return 
to  homes  and  parents  informed.  Second,  incarceration  in 
calaboose  or  fine;"  and  the  City  Clerk  says  in  a  letter  dated 
January  lo,  1898:  "  I  have  been  called  on  by  a  number  of  other 
cities  and  towns  for  copy  of  the  ordinance  and  think  it  is 
destined  to  become  general."  City  Clerk  of  Morris,  Minn., 
says:  "  Moral  effect  good  and  public  sentiment  with  it."  City 
Clerk  of  Anoka,  -Minn.,  says:  "  It  has  been  a  success  from  the 
start  "  (1895.) 

This  same  custom  is  bemg  advocated  and  adopted  in  some 
of  our  eastern  municipalities.  The  City  of  Cambridge  has 
passed  the  law  and  finds  it  effectual,  lessening  crime  and 
promoting  morality.  This  is  not  a  particularly  harsh  or  tr\'ing 
law.  It  simply  provides  that  children  of  sixteen  years  or 
under  shall  not  be  on  the  streets  without  a  good  and  sufficient 
t  .Kcuse,  after  half  past  nine  o'clock,  p.  m.  The  police  are  first" 
to  notice  and  warn;  then  next  complain  to  parents;  and  lastly, 
if  unheeded,  arrest. 

In  England,  this  custom  has  existed  since  the  days  of 
William,  the  Conqueror.  In  some  towns  curfew  has  been  rung 
for  over  eight  hundred  years.  In  Boston  it  was  rung  for  over 
two  centuries.  The  town  records  of  our  mother  town  show 
that  the  custom  existed  in  earlier  days;  "  for  Ringing  the  bell  " 
in  1826,  Si 2  was  paid  ;  and  the  curfew  was  rung  for  many 
years  after  that,  as  is  remembered  by  citizens  now  living.  In 
the  town  of  Newbury,  in  1706,  it  was  voted  to  "take  care  that 
the  bell  be  rung  at  nine  o'clock  every  night,  and  that  the  day 
of  the  month  be  every  night  tolled."  Thus  was  it  in  many 
other  towns. 

It  is  hoped  it  may  yet  ring  in  Melrose.  Several  efforts  have 
been  made  to  have  it  re-established.  In  our  early  days  it  was 
rung  for  a  number  of  years.  In  1855,  the  town  voted  to  have 
the  bell  on  the  Protestant  Methodist  Churcli  rung  at  nine  and 
also  at  twelve  o'clock;  and  George  F.  Hoardman  was  paid 
$33.33  for  same.  In  1856,  it  was  continued,  being  rung  not 
only  at  nine  and  twelve,  but  at  seven  in  the  morning;  and 
Learned  Lynde  was  paid  $\o,  and  Jacob  M.  Ellis  $20  for  ser- 
vices.    Different  votes  establishing  it   have  been  passed  since; 


45G  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

but  it  has  met  with  indifferent  success.  One,  March  12,  1879, 
to  be  rung  at  nine  o'clock;  repealed  Nov.  4,  following.  One 
in  1893,  was  repealed  after  a  while,  at  the  request  of  the  fire- 
men who  made  the  plea  that  they  could  not  tell  the  curfew 
from  the  fire  alarm.  With  the  new  system  of  striking  the 
alarm  fully  established,  the  curfew  can  be  rung  without  any 
danger  wnatever  of  conflicting  with  the  fire  alarm.  Now  that 
the  custom  has  something  besides  sentiment  behind  it,  and  is 
utilized  in  the  interest  of  morality  and  for  the  prevention  of 
crime,  why  ought  not  Melrose  to  adopt  it?  Not  only  this; 
although  we  have  no  "lowing  herd"  that  " winds  slowly  o'er 
the  lea,"  as  "curfew  tolls  the  knell  of  parting  day,"  still  it 
would  be  pleasant  to  hear  the  pealing  of  a  sweet-toned  bell 
welling  out  o'er  hill  and  dale,  as 

"  The  day  is  done,  and  the  darkness 
Falls  from  the  wings  of  night." 

"49ERS." 

When  the  California  "gold  fever"  burst  upon  the  world  in 
1849,  there  were  six  residents  of  North  Maiden  that  left  for 
that  "  El  Dorado:" 

John  Taylor,  Greeley  Merrill,  George  P.  Fuller,  [until  recently  a 
citizen  of  Melrose,  but  now  of  Bourne,  Mass.]  and  John  McClish 
[Rev.  John  McLeish  of  the  Protestant  Methodist  Church],  who  went 
as  chaplain,  John  McClish,  Jr.,  a  boy  fourteen  years  old,  who  went  as 
cabin  boy,  and  a  man  by  the  name  of  Abbott,  who  went  as  sailor.^ 

They  sailed  with  sixty-four  others  in  the  Brig  "Sea  Eagle," 
on  March  8,  and  arrived  in  San  Francisco,  October  28,  1849, 
after  a  voyage,  via  Cape  Horn,  of  234  days.  After  a  some- 
what fruitless  search  for  the  yellow  metal,  Mr.  Fuller  returned 
to  Melrose,  June  4,  1851.  after  a  voyage  of  four  months,  a 
portion  of  which  time,  fifty-three  days,  he  was  obliged  to  sub- 
sist each  day  on  "one-half  pound  of  bread,  two  ounces  of  pork, 
and  a  pint  of  water.  I  remember  well  the  stories  that  were  in 
the  papers  at  the  time,  one  being  a  )arn  about  a  man  findmg  a 
piece  of  gold  so  big  that  he  could  not  move  it,  and  sat  down 
on  it  and  offered  as  high  as  twenty-seven  thousand  dollars  for 
a  plate  of  beans." 

1  George  Priest  Fuller's  letter  in  Melrose   Reporter,  March  11,  1899. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  457 

SLAVE  KV. 

As  has  been  seen  in  the  sketches  of  the  oUl  families  of  Mel- 
rose, by  extracts  from  their  wills,  and  copies  of  documents 
there  given,  and  items  and  anecdotes  related,  particularly  in 
connection  with  the  Lynde,  Barrett  and  Sprague  families, 
slavery  once  existed  on  the  territory  of  North  Maiden,  as  well 
as  on  that  of  Maiden  centre.  It  would  seem,  however,  in  this 
region,  to  have  been  in  a  less  harsh  form  than  the  slave-dri\ing, 
family  separating  state  of  that  institution  as  it  existed  in  the 
South.  Nevertheless,  slaves  were  sold  here,  like  cattle,  or  any 
other  chattel,  as  well  as  bequeathed  by  will,  and  "Slavery  \»  as 
here  from  the  beginning  and  remained  under  the  protection  of 
the  law  until  after  the  Revolutionary  period.""- 

The  first  notice  of  the  existence  of  slavery  on  Maiden  terri- 
tory is  implied  in  an  order  of  the  General  Court  in  relation  to 
a  servant  of  Job  Lane,  the  builder  of  Maiden's  second  meeting 
house,  said  servant  having  been  found  guilty  of  running  troni 
his  master. 

[May  i8,  1633]  Ebedmelecks  ye  negros  censure.  In  ans'  to  the 
petition  of  Job  Lane,  in  behalfe  of  Ebedmeleck,  his  servant,  for  the 
remittment  of  the  rigor  of  the  lawe,  &c,  the  Court  judgeth  it  meete, 
that  the  said  Ebedmelecke,  for  his  stealing  victualls  and  breaking  open 
a  window  on  the  Lord's  day,  shall,  the  next  lecture  day.  be  whipt  with 
five  stripes.'^ 

By  the  middle  of  the  century  [i8th],  a  feeling  antagonistic 
to  slavery  began  to  work  a  change  in  public  opinion,  and  the 
condition  of  the  slave  began  to  improve.  The  laws  for  his 
protection  became  more  direct,  or  were  better  observed;  and 
he  was  more  freely  admitted  to  the  enjoyment  of  Christian 
rites  and  privileges.  His  children  might  be  baptized  and  h.e 
might  be^  ome  a  member  of  the  church. 

Ginne  negro  servant  to  M';  Thomas  Pratt  of  Chelsea  was  baptized 
in  1750,  by  the  Rev.  Aaron  Cleaveland  of  the  South  Church  ;  [Maiden] 
and  there  were  at  least  two  negroes  who  were  members  of  the  same 
church,  in  full  communion,  before  the  Revolution.  .  .  .  The  Creen 
family  had  several  slaves,  as  had  also  the  Lyndes,  the  Dexters.  and 
the  Bucknams.^ 

-  Corey,  History  of  Maldeti,  414. 

■*  Massacfiusi'/ts  Colony  Records,  iv  (  i  ;,  137. 

*  Corey,  History  of  Maldcu,  419. 


458  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

On  this  subject,  the  Bi-Centemiial  Book  of  Maiden,  page  131, 
has  the  following : 

There  were  formerly  a  number  of  persons  of  x\frican  descent  held 
in  chains  of  bondage  among  us,  one  or  two  of  whom  survived  until 
within  a  very  few  years.  There  is  a  tradition  that  one  of  the  old 
Esquires  of  this  town  had  a  slave  who  had  been  in  his  family  until  he 
was  about  seventy  years  of  age.  Perceiving  that  there  was  not  much 
more  work  left  in  the  old  man,  the  Esquire  took  him  one  day,  and 
made  him  a  somewhat  pompous  address  to  the  following  effect :  "  You 
have  been  a  faithful  servant  to  me  and  my  father  before  me.  I  have 
long  been  thinking  what  I  should  do  to  reward  you  for  your  services. 
I  give  you  your  freedom!  You  are  your  own  master;  you  are  your 
own  man."  Upon  this  the  old  negro  shook  his  grizzly  head  and  with  a 
sly  glance,  showing  that  he  saw  through  his  master's  intentions,  quietly 
replied  ;  "  No,  no,  Massa  you  eat  de  meat,  and  now  you  must  pick  de 
bone." 

Another  has  said: 

The  names  of  a  few  of  these  sevirtors  have  come  down  to  us ;  but 
the  names  of  Brahma  Bucknam  and  Cato  Lynde,  of  Phyllis  WiUis  and 
Violet  Hills,  belong  to  a  day  and  a  condition  which  have  passed  away. 
The  comparative  value  of  human  flesh  in  Maiden  may  be  known  by 
the  inventory  of  Deacon  John  Pratt,  which  was  made  in  1742,  when 
an  "  oald  negroman  "  and  a  cow  were  valued  alike  at  ;^io  each.  The 
inventory  of  the  estate  of  Ezra  Green,  made  in  1768,  valued  "  a  Negro 
man  named  Jeferre  "  at  £10,  while  the  more  youthful  "  Negro  Boy 
Named  Simon  "was  invoiced  at  ;^33.  A  "  Negro  Garl  Named  Violet," 
increased  the  inventory  only  by  the  amount  of  ;^io,  13s.  4d.  Several 
individuals  who  had  been  slaves  remained  in  Maiden  within  the  last 
fifty  years,  the  last  of  whom  was  Simon  Knights,  who,  with  his  worthy 
and  industrious  wife,  is  well  remembered  by  many.  He  had  been  a 
slave  of  Bernard  Green,  and  was  a  sincere  and  consistent  Christian 
and  a  member  of  the  Baptist  Church.  He  lived  many  years  in  a 
small  house,  as  black  as  himself,  which  stood  in  Haskin's  Lane,  not 
far  from  the  site  of  the  Unitarian  Chapel,  and  died  in  July,  1847.  His 
funeral  service,  which  was  held  in  the  Baptist  Church,  was  attended 
by  the  towns-people  as  that  of  a  neighbor  and  friend.-' 

In  the  History  of  Medford,  by  Charles  Brooks,  occurs  the 
following  concerning  the  slaves  held  in  our  neighboring  town 
by  Col.  Isaac  Royal,  who,  after  leaving  the  country,  wrote  to 
his  agent.  Dr.  .Simon  Tufts,  as  follows: 

^  Corey,  History  of  Maiden,  for  by  vSainuel  Adams  Drake,  1880,  ii> 
History  of  Middle se A-  Cc«?//i',  edited       125.  6. 


MISCELLANEOUS.  459 

Please  to  sell  the  followinjj  negroes:  Stephen  and  George;  they 
each  cost  j^6o  sterling;  and  1  would  take  ^50,  or  even  ;^i5,  apiece 
for  them.  Hagar  cost  £'^s  sterling;  but  1  will  take  ;^3o  for  her. 
I  gave  for  Mira  £2,^^  but  will  take  ;^25.  If  Mr.  Benjamin  Hall  will 
give  $100  for  her  which  he  offered,  he  may  have  her,  it  being  a  good 
place.  As  to  Betsey,  and  her  daughter  Nancy,  the  former  may  tarry, 
or  take  her  freedom,  as  she  may  choose  ;  and  Nancy  you  may  put  out 
to  some  good  family  by  the  year. 

Of  Col.  Royal,  Mr.  Brooks  says:  "Asa  master  he  was  kind 
to  his  slaves,  charitable  to  the  poor,  and  friendly  to  everybody." 

The  Maiden  Records  for  February  4,  1761,  state  that  the 
Selectmen  paid  Solomon  Townsend  ^'13,6,8,  for  brin^iny  up  a 
mulatto  child,  he  agreeing  to  indemnify  the  town  from  any 
charge  "on  account  of  said  child  so  long  as  it  ma}-  be  made  a 
slave  to  me  or  m}-  heirs." 

The  following  notice  is  a  relic  of  its  later  days: 

Ran  away  from  the  Subscriber,  on  the  3''  inst.  an  indented  negro 
Servant,  named  Ephraim  Pomp,  18  years  old,  about  5  feet  3  inches 
high  ;  walked  lame ;  speaks  broken  by  reason  of  a  hair-lip  which  has 
been  cut  and  sewed  up ;  wore  or  carried  away  a  blue  cloth  coat,  a 
white  do,  waistcoat,  dark  colored  cloth  pantaloons,  and  a  straw  hat, 
All  persons  are  forbid  trusting  or  harboring  said  Lad,  as  they  would 
avoid  the  penalty  of  the  law ;  and  any  person  that  will  take  up  and 
return  said  Lad,  shall  recive  a  reward  of  One  Cent  for  their  trouble. 

Maiden,  Sept.  13,  1804.  Bernard  Green.** 

REVOLUTIONARY    INCIDENTS. 

On  the  19th  of  April,  1775,  when  the  British  troops  left 
Boston  for  the  purpose  of  capturing  Hancock  and  Adams,  and 
destroying  stores,  at  Lexington  and  Concord,  two  men  from 
Lynn,  by  the  name  of  Hadley  and  Wellman,  on  their  way  to 
join  our  forces  "to  resist  the  ministeral  troops,"  stopped  at  the 
old  Israel  Cook  house  then  standing  on  the  easterly  corner  of 
Green  and  Howard  streets.  This  house  was  built  about  the 
year  1730,  by  Phineas  Upham,  son  of  the  first  Phineas  Upham 
that  came  to  Melrose.  He  died  in  1739,  and  his  widow  married 
Mr.  Cook,  who  kept  a  store  in  this  house,  and  who  received  a 
license  to  sell  rum  as  early  as  1759,  recognizing  to  the  King 
therefor 
in  the  sum  of  ;^io  with  2  sureties  in  the  sum  of  £^  each,  conditional 

^   Columbian  Sentinel y  ."^epteniber   15,  1804. 


460  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

on  his  using  the  Ucense  in  the  house  occupied  by  him  and  for  keeping 
good  rule  and  order  as  the  law  directs. 

The  first  stove  ever  used  in  this  town  was  in  this  house. 
The  two  patriots  were  fired  by  the  spirit  of  patriotism,  but 
stopped  at  this  store  to  refresh  themselves  with  another  kind. 
They  went  on  their  way  thrilled  by  two  kinds  of  spirit,  rum 
and  patriotism.     Both  were  killed  at  Lexington. 

On  the  mornincj  after  the  alarm,  the  women  of  this  part  of 
the  town,  fearing  that  their  sons  and  husbands  might  suffer  for 
the  lack  of  food 

filled  the  saddle-bags  and  placed  them  on  Phineas  Sprague's  horse, 
the  best  if  not  the  only  means  of  transportation  in  those  days.  Isaac 
Cook  mounted  the  horse  and  started  for  Lexington.  On  his  way, 
when  nearing  Lexington,  he  was  shot  at  b}^  the  British,  who  killed  the 
horse  from  under  him ;  but  Cook,  nothing  daunted,  shouldered  the 
saddle-bags  and  trudged  on,  till  he  found  the  men,  who  were  much  in 
need  of  food. 

The  after  history  of  this  old  Upham-Cook  house  is  as  follows: 
A  few  years  ago,  Henry  A.  Norris  bought  the  property,  and 
the  old  house  was  demolished,  when  another  of  our  old  land- 
marks became  a^  thing  of  the  past.  Mr.  Norris  then  built 
many  fine  houses  on  this  tract  of  land,  and  sold  many  lots,  on 
which  the  purchasers  built  their  homes;  and  "  Norrisville " 
sometimes  called  "  Fountainville,"  on  account  of  the  handsome 
fountain  standing  in  the  square,  given  by  Mr.  Norris  and 
George  M.  Dennis,  then  a  resident,  has  become  one  of  the  best 
residential  parts  of  our  city.  Mr.  Norris  also  placed  the 
public  fountain  at  the  intersection  of  Avon  and  Elm  Streets; 
and  the  private  fountain  on  the  lawn  of  the  residence  of  Rev. 
Burke  F.  Leavitt,  corner  of  Green  and  Avon  Streets. 

John  Edmunds,  who  bought  the  old  Breeden  place  on  the 
old  road  to  Saugus,  near  the  Parker  place,  was  a  Revolu- 
tionary patriot.  He  took  pride  in  relating  his  war  experience. 
He  owned  a  sword  which  he  obtained  in  the  following  manner. 
While  crossing  a  field  to  his  quarters  one  day,  he  was  met  by 
a  Hessian  soldier.  They  grappled  and  a  most  desperate 
struggle  ensued.  They  fell  to  the  ground,  Mr.  iLdmunds  upper- 
most. The  Hessian  begged  for  his  life.  Mr.  Edmunds  stripping 
him  of  his  sword,  allowed  him  to  depart,  wondering  at  the 
same  time,  what   would   have   been  his  fate    had   the   Hessian 


MISCELLANEOUS.  461 

been  uppermost  when  they  fell.     This  sword  is  now  in   posses- 
sion of  a  descendant  living  in  Milford,  Mass. 

The  Malden  Beacon.  In  the  fall  of  1778,  a  sergeant's  guard 
was  posted  on  Wayte's  Mount  and  a  beacon  erected  there  for 
the  purpose  of  warning  the  country  in  the  event  of  a  descent 
of  the  enemy  upon  the  coast.^ 

In  1868,  the  late  Artemas  Barrett  contributed  a  series  of 
Historical  Notes  to  the  Maiden  Messenger.  This  was  a  short 
time  before  the  Melrose  Journal  \w2iS  established.  In  No.  5, 
Mr.  Barrett  said; 

I  have  the  original  order  of  Major  Gen'l  Heath,  to  the  Sergt.  of 
the  Guard  at  Maiden  Beacon  ;  by  it  I  learn  there  was  one  in  Boston.  .  .  . 

Head  Quarters,  Boston,  Sept^  7,  1778. 

Sir,  You  are  Detached  with  Seven  men  for  the  purpose  of  Guarding 
the  Bacon  on  Maiden  Hill,  and  Sitting  Fire  thereto  when  the  Signal 
is  Given  from  the  Bacon  in  Boston.  You  are  to  keep  a  Sentinel  Day 
and  night  by  relief  at  the  Bacon,  his  Duly  is  to  Preserve  it  from  being 
injured  by  any  Person  or  Persons ^ — ^and  Constantly  to  be  observing 
the  Bacon  in  Boston.  If  He  Observes  it  to  be  on  Fire  He  is  Immedi- 
ately to  Call  for  you.  Upon  your  own  view  of  it,  being  Certain  that 
it  is  on  Fire  you  will  immediately  Sit  fire  to  your  own,  but  not  other- 
wise, as  3^ou  will  answer  for  it.  You  will  Inculcate  on  your  Sentinels 
the  greatest  Vigilance  in  Duty  and  acquaint  them  that  they  will  be 
liable  to  Sufifer  Death  at  the  Discretion  of  a  court  Martial,  should  they 
be  found  absent  from  or  Sleeping  on  their  Post 

By  order  of  Major  Gen'   Heath 
JoNA  Pollard  D  A  G 

Serg'  of  the  (juard  at  Maiden  Bacon 

It  is  not  known  that  the  beacon  was  ever  fired.  The  guard 
consisted  of  nine  men  under  the  command  of  Sergeant  Jona- 
than  Brown. 

Action  Concerning  Tea.  Maiden's  action  on  account  of  the 
pernicious  measures  passed  at  different  times  by  Great  Britain, 
to  raise  revenue  from  the  colonics  was  of  the  most  spirited  and 
emphatic  nature.  Non-importation  leagues  were  formed,  and 
many  votes  were  passed  concerning  England's  various  attempts 
at  enforcement  of  her  acts.  EspecialU'  emphatic  was  Maiden's 
action  concerning  the  importation  and  use  of  tea.  At  the 
annual  Town  Meeting  held  on  the  fateful  March  5,  1770,  one 
of  the  votes  passed  was  as  follows: 

'  Corey,    History   of  Ma/dcn,   p.  776. 


462  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

That  we  will  not  use  any  foreign  Tea,  nor  countenance  ye  use  of  it 
in  our  Families,  (unless  for  Sickness)  till  y^  Revenue  Acts  are  repealed. 

Again: 

At  a  legal  Meeting  of  the  Inhabitants  of  the  Town  of  Maiden  the 
13th  of  Decemr  1773: 

Resolved  i.  That  this  Town  does  cordially  &  entirely  approve  of 
the  Resolutions  entered  into  by  the  town  of  Boston,  &  the  measures 
taken  by  that  town  relative  to  the  landing  of  certain  Teas,  sent  by  the 
East  India  company  into  the  port  of  Boston,  &  which  are  subject  to 
an  unjust  and  unconstitutional  duty.  .  .  . 

Resolved  3.  That  as  this  Town  cannot  but  be  of  opinion,  that  the 
success  of  the  measures  now  taking  by  the  colonies,  to  prevent  the 
baneful  influence  of  these  acts  of  parliament,  by  which  we  esteem  our- 
selves aggrieved,  depends  in  a  great  measure  upon  individuals,  there- 
fore they  would  express  their  wishes  and  desires,  that  every  inhabitant 
of  the  town  would  prevent  the  consumption  of  tea  in  his  family,  and 
discourage  as  much  as  lies  in  his  power  the  use  of  that^herb,  so  long 
as  it  shall  be  subject  to  the  duties  laid  upon  it;  and  all  those  persons 
that  shall  hereafter  be  concern'd  in  buying  or  selling  the  same,  while 
subject  to  duty,  shall  be  esteemed  enemies  to  their  country,  and 
treated  as  such. 

This  was  three  days  only  before  the  celebrated  "tea  party," 
which  has  been  characterized  as: 

An  event  which  has  never  yet  been  so  copiously  described  nor  so 
elaborately  considered  in  its  effects  as  it  deserves  by  the  philosophical 
historian. 

It  was  determined  that  the  tea  should  not  be  landed.  A 
company  of  twenty-five  was  formed  to  patrol  the  streets  each 
night.  Among-  these  watchmen  were  John  Hancock,  Henry 
Knox,  Paul  Revere  and  other  prominent  citizens. 

On  the  evening  of  the  i6th  of  December,  after  Samuel  Adams,  in 
the  excited  gathering  in  the  "Old  South,"  had  pronounced  the  fatal 
words  :  •'  This  meeting  can  do  nothing  more  to  save  the  country,"  and 
some  one  in  the  gallery  had  cried  out  "  Boston  Harbor  a  tea-pot  to- 
night !  Hunah  for  Griffin's  Wharf !  "  a  band  of  men,  several  of  wliom 
were  disguised  as  Indians,  proceeded,  in  an  orderly  manner,  to  the 
wharf,  boarded  the  vessels,  and  deliberately  burst  open,  with  hatchets 
and  axes,  three  hundred  and  forty-two  chests  of  tea,  and  spilled  their 
contents  into  the  waters  below.     This  tea  was  valued  at  ;^  18,000.'* 

Rkcruiting  CoMMriTKE.     In  October,  1779,  during  llie  time 

^  Goss,  Life  of  Colonel  Paul  Revert',  pp.  127,  8. 


MISCELLA  NEO  US.  463 

when  numerous  calls  were  being  made  for  recruits  to  be  raised 
for  the  army,  one  of  the  meetings  called  in  Maiden  was  as 
follows: 

To  take  Under  Consideration  a  Letter  wrote  from  Cap'.  Phinehas 
Stearns  Dated  Oct7  ii,  1779  wrote  in  Consiquence  of  A  Resolve  of 
Court  Dated  Octo  9.  1 779  for  to  Raise  one  Corpral  and  Eight  Privats 
to  march  to  Clavrack  on  Hudsons  River  to  Joine  our  Army. 

At  this  meeting,  says  Corey,  which  was  adjourned  "from  the 
meeting  house  to  M!;  Charles  Hill's  West  Room,"  and  again 
to  "  Capl  William  Wait's  house  in  the  west  Room,"  Captain 
William  Waite,  Lieutenant  Bernard  Green  and  Lieutenant 
John  Vinton  were  chosen  a  committee  to  hire  the  men  for 
three  months,  and  twenty-two  hundred  pounds  were  raised  for 
that  purpose. 

Lieutenant  Vinton  was  the  son  of  Benoni  Vinton,  who  lived 
in  what  came  to  be  known  as  the  "Mountain  House,"  corner 
of  Vinton  and  Maple  Streets. 

OLD    CUSTOMS. 

In  the  early  days  there  were  various  municipal  regulations 
and  ordinances  that  seem  to  us  of  today  somewhat  curious  and 
unnecessary,  and  which  form  interesting  reading.  But  it  must 
be  lemembered  that  circumstances  and  surroundings  were  very 
different  then  than  what  they  are  now;  much  that  was  in  force 
then  has  either  become  obsolete,  or  has  now  become  custom, 
and  no  law  is  requisite.  At  first  men  were  too  busy  in  felling 
forests  and  building  homes  to  erect  fences  and  walls;  but  it 
soon  became  necessary  to  take  action  for  the  care  of  cattle, 
sheep  and  swine;  for  the  cutting  of  timber,  wood,  etc.  Some 
of  the  votes,  some  of  the  penalties,  some  of  the  oddities  of  our 
mother  town  here  follow: 

In  i6q5,  the  minister  received  the  "Straingers  mone>'"  in 
addition  to  his  salary;  this  was  an\-  contribution  made  b\' 
individuals  attending  meeting,  but  not  belonging  to  the  town: 

All  the  inhabitance  of  this  Town  that  contrabute  to  the  minestry 
doe  pute  thare  mony  in  papers  with  thare  names  and  some  of  mony  in 
it  and  all  those  that  done  not  contrabute  shall  pay  in  thare  money 
quarterly  to  the  deakens  and  if  any  man  pute  in  his  mony  in  to  the 
box  naked  it  shall  be  hiked  at  as  Strangers  mony  and  so  lowset. 

In  1733,  a  pauper  was  cared  for  by  the  following  cjuaint  vote: 


464  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

An  account  of  sundery  nesecaries  provided  for  Bethiah  wilkison  by 
The  select  men  of  maiden  aprill  The  9th  day  1733. 

to  one  pair  of  tow  sheats  ;^i-ios-o  to  one  pair  of  Shoos  ;^oo-i2s-o 
to  one  Apron  and  handarcheif  £oo-c)^  6  To  a  Pettycoat  and  makeing 
;^oo-i5'=-oo  To  two  caps  and  makeing  ;^ 00-6-0  To  two  cotten  and 
lining  shifts  ;^i-io-3  The  aforesaid  cloathing  parchesed  by  the  five 
pounds  money  which  insign  Joseph  lynds  paid  for  the  yous  of  the  town 
of  maiden  when  chosen  constable  excepting  2  shillings  and  9  penc 
worth  of  said  things  entered  by  order  of  the  select  men. 

The  records  show  the  rate  of  taxation  in  Maiden,  in  179635 
follows: 

Oxen  and  horses  at  3d.  per  head;  cows,  2  i-2d. ;  three  years  old,  2; 
two  yearlings,  i  penney;  sheep  £^  the  score;  plow  land  and  medo, 
I  penny  per  acre;  pasture,  1-2  penny;  housing  by  estimation. 

November  25,  1680,  the  Town  made  a  contribution  of  ^^13  5s 
towards  the  redemption  of  Thomas  Mitchell  of  Charlestown, 
then  in  the  hands  of  the  "  Mohammedan  pirates  of  the  Medi- 
terranean;" and  in  1686,  it  was  voted 

that  the  mony  that  was  given  towards  the  redemption  of  M^  Gold  he 
being  dead  in  captivity  showed  return  vnto  the  Towne  for  the  Townes 
Vse  and  not  vnto  his  Widdow. 

May  19.  1740, 

It  was  put  to  vote,  to  see  if  the  town  would  allow  Mr.  Solomon 
Townsend  liberty,  on  any  terms,  to  pasture  a  cow,  on  the  burying- 
place ;  and  it  past  in  the  negative. 

March  25,  1742,  the  selectmen  made  a  rate 

of  ^40  old  tenor  to  answer  the  payments  that  may  be  demanded  upon 
the  town  for  the  extirpation  of  Black  birds,  Crows,  Squirrels,  and 
wharf  rats,  together  with  other  charges  of  the  town. 

The  Bl- Centennial  Book  has  an  excellent  picture  of  the  days 
of  old: 

From  a  statement  made  by  an  aged  citizen  of  the  old  Colony,  it  ap- 
pears that  seventy  years  ago  [this  was  written  over  fifty  years  ago,]  the 
style  of  living  in  the  rural  districts  of  New  England  was  exceedingly 
homely  and  plain.  In  winter  there  was  great  uniformity  of  meals;  at 
dinner  the  first  course  was  a  dish  of  broth,  usually  called  porridge, 
containing  beans,  and  seasoned  with  summer  savory.  The  second 
course  was  an  Indian  pudding  with  sauce.  When  the  good  wife 
arose,  while  it  was  yet  a  great  while  before  day,  she  set  on  the  big  pot, 


MISCELLANEOUS.  4<i:) 

in  the  yawning  cavern  of  a  fire-place ;  in  which  pot  was  placed  a 
substantial  Indian  pudding,  tied  up  in  a  stout  bag,  and  left  to  be  boiled 
and  bounced  in  the  seething  cauldron  till  the  hungry  hour  of  noon, 
when  it  was  turned  out,  red  as  a  cherry  from  its  long  concoction.  The 
pudding  was  followed  by  a  dish  of  boiled  pork  and  beef,  with  turnips. 
Potatoes  had  not  then  come  into  general  use.  We  have  heard  the  late 
excellent  Mr.  Nathan  Lynde  remark,  that  when,  in  his  boyhood,  [he 
lived  in  the  old  homestead  on  Main  Street,  corner  Goodyear  Avenue.] 
they  placed  three  bushels  of  potatoes  in  the  cellar  of  his  father  [Col. 
Joseph  Lynde,]  who  was  a  large  farmer,  they  wondered  what  they 
should  do  with  so  large  a  winter  stock.  Tea,  or  coffee,  or  chocolate, 
were  reserved  for  breakfast  on  Sabbath  mornings.  On  other  morn- 
ings, and  at  the  evening  meals,  milk,  with  toasted  brown  bread  or 
hasty  pudding,  was  the  usual  beverage,  varied  by  an  occasional  mug 
of  cider  or  beer.  Pork  and  beef  also  were  in  order  on  all  occasions  of 
this  kind.  The  Sunday  dinner  was  dispensed  with  ;  but  immediately 
after  the  afternoon  service,  the  festive  board  was  dignified  with  roasted 
goose,  or  turkey,  or  spare-rib,  or  stew  pie.  In  the  spring  and  summer, 
milk,  which  was  scarce  in  winter,  was  supplied  for  supper  and  break- 
fast.    Fine  wheat  flour  was  not  in  common  use. 

In  general,  old  and  young  were  furnished  with  their  Sunday  suit  of 
clothes,  made  so  faithfully,  and  of  such  substantial  materials,  supplied 
by  the  spinning-wheels  and  looms  of  the  domestic  factory,  and  pre- 
served with  such  pious  economy,  as  to  last  for  a  life  time,  and  descend 
to  children's  children.  Few  men  expected  to  live  long  enough  after 
attaining  their  majority,  to  wear  out  a  pair  of  boots,  whose  leather  had 
been  nine  years  in  tanning.  The  common  garb  of  men  was  a  common 
doublet,  sometimes  called  a  fly-coat,  reaching  about  half  way  to  the 
thigh  ;  a  striped  jacket,  and  a  pair  of  small  clothes.  These  were  made 
of  flannel  cloth,  pulled,  but  not  sheared,  and  accompanied  with  flannel 
shirts  and  stockings,  with  a  silk  neckerchief  to  flourish  on  grand 
occasions.  Shoes  and  stockings  were  not  worn  by  the  young  men, 
nor  by  many  of  the  older  men,  w^hile  engaged  in  farming  business. 
Boys,  as  soon  as  they  were  out  of  their  petticoats,  were  garbed  like 
their  grand-sires,  and  at  once  looked  little  and  old.  For  summer  work, 
loose  trousers  were  worn.  No  young  man  ever  thought  of  such 
effiminacy  as  the  wearing  of  a  great  coat.  To  cap  the  climax,  a  broad 
brimmed  hat,  looped  up  in  triple  cock,  surmounted  the  sturdy  frame. 

The  women,  young  and  old,  horrid  to  relate !  wore  flarnel  gowns  in 
the  winter.  The  young  women  in  the  summer  wore  wrappers ;  and 
while  about  their  ordinary  business,  dispensed  with  shoes  and  stock- 
ings. For  bettermost  dress,  they  were  usually  contented  with  a  single 
calico  gown,  though  many  had  another  of  camlet  or  poplin.  The 
sleeves  came  down  to  the  elbows,  and  were  garnished  with  a  ruffle  or 
two,  sometimes  nine  or  ten  inches  deep.     Their  shoes  were  made  of 


466  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

leather  or  broadcloth,  with  heels  an  inch  and  a  half  high,  and  pointed 
toes,  making  jDlenty  of  work  for  the  corn  cutters. 

Locomotion.  The  principal  conveyance  of  families  to  meetings  or 
visits  in  those  times  was  by  nature's  tandem.  A  walk  of  five  or  six 
miles  for  such  purposes  was  considered  no  hardship,  by  men  or 
women.  A  forty  dollar  horse  was  considered  as  a  prime  article ;  and 
a  rosinante  more  than  nine  years  old  was  of  no  account.  A  half  cord 
of  wood,  on  one  of  their  clumsy  wains,  was  regarded  as  a  monstrous 
load.  Chaises,  on  their  first  appearance,  were  considered  a  piece  of 
magnificence  betokening  great  wealth  or  great  pride  in  the  owner. 
We  find  a  curious  illustration  of  this  matter  in  the  Diary  of  the 
Rev.  Joseph  Emerson.  Under  date  of  January  24,  1735,  the  good 
man  says :  "  Some  talk  about  buying  a  shay.  How  much  reason  have 
I  to  watch,  and  pray,  and  strive  against  inordinate  affection  for  the 
things  of  the  world."  January  31  :"  Bought  a  Shay,  ^27,  los.  The 
Lord  grant  it  may  be  a  comfort  and  blessing  to  my  family."  [In  the 
tax  return  ordered  by  the  State  in  1 753,  there  were  but  three  "  chaises  " 
in  Maiden,  five  in  Medford,  four  in  Lynn,  four  in  Reading,  and  none 
in  Chelsea  and  Stoneham.]  These  expressions  indicate  how  sensible 
he  was  of  the  great  temptations  incurred  by  this  important  purchase. 
February  5,  he  says :  "  Remarked  smiling  upon  my  being  drawn  in  a 
Shays.  The  Lord  Jesus  has  the  entire  government  of  the  church,  and 
to  his  favor  and  power  I  am  indebted  for  such  a  smile  of  Providence, 
so  very  unexpected."  Afterwards,  however,  his  stumbling  beast  ex- 
posed this  excellent  man  and  his  family  to  so  many  perils,  as  to  exciie 
in  his  mind  deep  misgiving  upon  the  propriety  of  his  indulging  in  this 
piece  of  extravagance.  At  last,  the  chaise,  causing  so  much  spiritual 
uneasiness  to  the  possessor,  and  so  much  envy  to  his  neighbors,  is 
disposed  of,  on  the  fourth  of  June,  to  Rev.  Mr.  White,  who,  doubtless, 
in  his  turn,  experienced  a  similar  succession  of  mental  elations,  con- 
flicts, and  depressions,  in  consequence  of  his  purchase. 

A  Contrast.  Though  the  style  of  living  in  the  rural  districts  of  New 
England  was  thus  simple  and  unostentatious,  it  is  well  known  that  in 
the  few  large  and  wealthy  towns,  there  were  families  distinguished  for 
the  luxury  and  elegance  of  their  mode  of  life.  The  evidence  of  this  is 
seen  in  the  splendor  and  costliness  of  apparel,  as  indicated  by  old 
portraits,  and  by  relics  of  faded  magnificence  kept  as  heir-looms  in 
many  families  at  the  present  time.  This  is  also  indicated  by  the 
massive  pieces  of  plate  so  frequently  disposed  of  in  testamentary 
bequests ;  and  in  the  elaborate  carved  work  and  carpentry  which 
adorned  the  old  mansions  of  the  wealthier  class. 

Prices.  In  consequence  of  the  depreciation  of  the  Continental 
currency,  the  town,  in  1779,  passed  a  sumptuary  law  regulating  the 
price  of  various   commodities.     Among  other  things,  it  was   fixed: 


MISCELLANEOUS.  407 

That  the  price  of  men's  good  leather  shoes  should  be  ^5,  2s,  o;  and 
women's  £7,,  i2b,  o;  that  W.  I.  toddy  should  be  i6s  a  bowl,  and  New 
England  Rum  12s  a  bowl.  The  vote  was  afterwards  reconsidered; 
and  it  was  determined  that  toddy  should  be  i8s  a  bowl  when  made 
with  loaf  sugar,  and  i6s  when  made  with  brown. 

Funeral  Ceremonies.  A  MSS.  of  Artemas  Barrett  states 
that 

Crape,  scarfs,  gloves,  rings  and  hatbands  were  provided  for  the 
mourners  which  were  numerous  on  such  occasions.  The  body  was 
conveyed  to  the  grave  on  a  bier,  and  where  the  distance  was  long  as  in 
going  from  this  part  of  the  town  to  Maiden  Old  Burying  Ground,  a 
distance  of  three  miles,  they  would  have  sometimes  sixteen  Bearers  in 
order  to  rest  each  other.  They  seemed  to  have  a  desire  for  a  large 
funeral,  and  one  would  think  a  jolly  one.  And  Gloves,  Rings,  Wine 
arid  Rum  were  as  necessary  to  bury  a  Pauper  as  a  Prince.  This 
practice  continued  to  about  the  year  1 800,  and  even  to  within  my 
recollection  was  it  the  practice  to  furnish  the  Bearers  with  Rum.  If 
the  corpse  was  a  male  the  men  walked  first ;  if  a  female  the  women. 

Concerning  Some  of  our  Bird  Neighbors. 

How  many  citizens  of  Melrose  are  av^are  of  the  fact  that 
we  have  in  our  midst  a  "Robin  Roost,"  where  thousands  upon 
thousands  of  our  familiar  visitors  g^ather  evening  after  evening, 
until  the  season  of  migration  arrives,  for  a  night's  repose, 
departing  for  their  various  haunts  each  morning?  But  such 
is  the  case.  While  that  indefatigable  ornithologist,  Bradford 
Torrey  — author  of  Birds  in  the  Bush,  A  Ramblers  Lease,  The 
Foot-Path  Way,  etc.,  was  a  resident  of  Melrose,  he  discovered, 
what  had  not  been  mentioned  before  (1890)  by  any  ornithol- 
ogical writer,  that  robins  have  a  roosting  place,  in  which  they 
congregate  nightly,  coming  from  far  and  near.  Another  one 
had  been  found,  but  not  heralded,  a  half  dozen  years  before,, 
by  William  Brewster,  in  Belmont,  Mass.  Still  another  has 
since  been  located  in  Cambridge. 

This  Melrose  roost  is  situated  in  the  little  woods,  just  south 
of  Bennett's  Pond,  and  not  faf  from  the  highway  of  Howard 
Street.  For  some  time  Mr.  Torrey  had  suspected  something 
of  the  kind,  but  it  was  not  until  after  long  and  keen  observa- 
tion that  he  felt  sure  that  such  was  the  case,  and  finally  suc- 
ceeded in  locating  it.     He  says: 

Every  evening,  shortly  before  and  after  sunset,  they  were  to  be  seen 


468  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

flying,  now  singly,  now  by  twos  and  threes,  or  even  by  the  half  dozen, 
evidently  on  their  way  to  some  rendezvous.  I  was  suspicious  of  a 
rather  distant  hill-top  covered  with  pine-trees;  but  before  I  could 
make  it  convenient  to  visit  the  place  at  the  proper  hour,  I  discovered, 
quite  unexpectedly,  that  the  roost  was  close  by  the  very  road  up  and 
down  which  I  had  been  walking ;  an  isolated  piece  of  swampy  wood, 
a  few  acres  in  extent,  mostly  a  dense  growth  of  gray  birches  and 
swamp  white  oaks,  but  with  a  sprinkling  of  maples  and  other  decidu- 
ous trees.  It  is  bounded  on  the  further  side  by  a  wet  meadow,  and  at 
the  eastern  end  by  a  little  ice-pond,  with  a  dwelling-house  and  other 
buildings  beside  it,  all  within  a  stone's  throw  of  the  wood. 

Mr.  Torrey  made  many  visits  to  this  roost,  from  sunset  to 
dark,  counting  the  arrivals;  and  although  he  could  see  but  a 
portion  of  the  woods,  on  one  occasion  he  counted  1,533  robins, 
as  they  entered;  and  with  the  aid  of  a  friend  one  evening, 
2,344  were  counted. 

As  I  have  said,  there  was  little  to  be  learned  by  going  into  the  wood 
after  the  robins  were  assembled.  Nevertheless  I  used  frequently  to 
intrude  upon  them,  especially  as  friends  or  neighbors,  who  had  heard 
of  my  "  discovery,"  were  desirous  to  see  the  show.  The  prodigious 
cackling  and  rustling  overhead  seemed  to  make  a  deep  impression 
upon  all  such  visitors,  while,  for  myself,  I  should  have  had  no  difficulty 
in  crediting  the  statement  had  I  been  told  that  ten  thousand  robins 
were  in  the  tree-tops. 

Mr.  Torrey  concludes  this  interesting  bird  story  as  follows: 

What  I  am  told  of  the  Belmont  wood  is  true  also  of  the  one  in  Mel- 
rose :  its  shape  and  situation  are  such  as  to  make  an  accurate  census 
impossible,  no  matter  how  many  enumerators  might  be  employed. 
It  could  be  surrounded  easily  enough,  but  it  would  be  out  of  the 
question  to  divide  the  space  among  the  different  men  so  that  no  two 
of  them  should  count  the  same  birds.  At  present  it  can  only  be  said 
that  the  robins  are  numbered  by  thousands ;  in  some  cases,  perhaps, 
by  tens  of  thousands. 

Another  curious  experience  is  detailed  by  this  critical  bird 
observer,  in  the  chapter,  "A  Woodland  Intimate,"  in  his 
A  Rambler  s  Lease.  It  is  about  a  blue-headed  vireo,  which  he 
found  in  one  of  his  many  rambles  in  "Sewall's  woods,"  a 
favorite  resort  of  his,  for  the  pursuit  of  bird  studies: 

Quitting  the  path  suddenly,  I  walked  as  rapidly  as  possible  straight 
up  to  the  nest,  a  distance  of  perhaps  three  rods,  giving  her  no  chance 
to  slip  off,  with  the  hope  of  escaping  unperceived.     The  plan  worked 


MISCELLANEOUS.  409 

to  a  charm,  or  so  I  flattered  myself.  When  I  came  to  a  standstill  my 
eyes  were  within  a  foot  or  two  of  hers ;  in  fact,  I  could  get  no  nearer 
without  running  my  head  against  the  branch ;  yet  she  sat  quietly, 
apparently  without  a  thought  of  being  driven  from  her  post,  turning 
her  head  this  way  and  that,  but  making  no  sound,  and  showing  not 
the  least  sign  of  anything  like  distress,  A  mosquito  buzzed  about  my 
face,  and  I  brushed  it  off.  Still  she  sat  undisturbed.  Then  I  placed 
my  hand  against  the  bottom  of  the  nest.  At  this  she  half  rose  to  her 
feet,  craning  her  neck  to  see  what  was  going  on,  but  the  moment  I  let 
go  she  settled  back  upon  her  charge.  ...  By  this  time  a  daily  inter- 
view had  come  to  be  counted  upon  as  a  matter  of  course.  ...  I  opened 
my  store  of  dainties,  wet  the  tip  of  my  little  finger,  took  up  an  insect, 
and  held  it  to  her  mandibles.  For  a  moment  she  seemed  not  to  know 
what  it  was,  but  soon  she  picked  it  off  and  swallowed  it.  The  second 
one  she  seized  promptly,  and  the  third  she  reached  out  to  anticipate, 
exactly  as  a  tame  canary  might  have  done.  Before  I  could  pass  her 
the  fourth  she  stepped  out  of  the  nest,  and  took  a  position  upon  the 
branch  beside  it;  but  she  accepted  the  morsel,  none  the  less.  And  an 
extremely  pretty  sight  it  was —  a  wild  wood  bird  perched  upon  a  twig 
and  feeding  from  a  man's  finger !  ...  I  set  out  the  next  morning  with 
a  little  water  and  a  teaspoon,  in  addition  to  my  ordinary  outfit  of  rose- 
leaves.  The  mother  bird  was  at  home,  and  without  hesitation  dipped 
her  bill  into  the  water  — the  very  first  solitary  vireo.  I  dare  be  bound, 
that  ever  drank  out  of  a  silver  spoon.  .  .  .  Within  an  hour  I  was 
speeding  toward  the  Green  Mountains.  There,  in  those  ancient 
Vermont  forests,  I  saw  and  heard  other  solitary  vireos,  but  none  that 
treated  me  as  my  Melrose  pair  had  done.  Noble  and  gentle  spirits! 
though  I  were  to  live  a  hundred  years,  I  should  never  see  their  like 
again. 

The  remainder  of  the  stor}^  is,  unhappily,  soon  told.  I  was  absent 
a  fortnight,  and  on  getting  back  went  at  once  to  the  sacred  oak.  Alas ! 
there  was  nothing  but  a  severed  branch  to  show  where  the  vireo's  nest 
had  hung.  The  cut  looked  recent ;  I  was  thankful  for  that.  Perhaps 
the  "  collector,"  whoever  he  was,  had  been  kind  enough  to  wait  till  the 
owners  of  the  house  were  done  with  it,  before  he  carried  it  away.  Let 
us  hope  so,  at  all  events,  for  the  peace  of  his  own  soul,  as  well  as  for 
the  sake  of  the  birds. 

Rocks  and  Minerals  of  Melrose. 

In  the  JSIclrosc  jfoiinia/,  of  date  March  25,  1893,  George  F. 
Perry,  of  No.  22  Adams  Street,  gave  a  list  of  the  rocks  and 
minerals  to  be  found  on  our  territory,  describing  them  quite 
fully;  giving  their  component  parts  and  characteristics.  The 
names  only  ai-e  here  given: 


470  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Rocks.  Quartsite;  slate;  micaschist;  hornblendie  granite; 
felsite,  porphyretic,  banded,  pyritiferous,  sperophyric  and 
petrosilex;  diabase,  porphyretic  and  disintegrated;  melaphyre, 
amygdaloidal  and  brecciated;  till;  sand,  ferruginous  and  rock 
flour;  peat. 

Minerals.  Quartz;  limonite;  hematite;  magnetite;  iron 
pyrite;  hornblende;  actirolite;  asbestos;  calcite;  epidote; 
pyrolusite;  garnets. 


VALUATION 


Year.      Census. 


Dwell- 
ings. 


Polls.    Val.  Build'ij 


Total  Value 
Keal  Estate. 


Val.   Per- 

soual  Est. 


Total 
Valuation. 


1850 

n,260 

125 

317 
335 

185] 

1853 

350 

420 
496 

185:t 

1854 

1855 

1,97G 

361 

523 

1856 

2,20G 

573 

622 

1857 

1858 

2,297 

567 

1859 

2,431 

2. -182 

545 
496 

610 
621 
618 

186U 

1801 

:8G3 

521 

615 

i8o:t 

523 
524 

659 
667 

1864 

1865 

2,8C6 

550 

714 

1866 

550 

761 

1867 

567 

775 

1868 

.586 

825 

I860 

3,181 

590 
629 

800 
S.'O 

1870 

1871 

665 
706 
742 

881 
917 
967 

1872 

18711 

1874 

786 

1,039 

1875 

3,990 

946 

1,099 

1876 

4,185 
4,101 

1,027 
1,037 

1,102 
1,121 

1877 

1878 

4,221 

1,045 

1,183 

187» 

4,3()5 

1,002 

1,203 

.$1,697,350 

1880 

4,443 

1,001 

1,195 

1,729,050 

1881 

4,508 

1,014 

1,226 

1,747,950 

1882 

4,739 

1,038 

1,292 

1,803,425 

IfiSa 

5,071 

1,126 

1 ,388 

2,130,039 

1884 

5,607 

1,206 

1,<U)7 

2,357,814 

1885 

6,110 

1,323 

1,772 

2,585,014 

1886 

6,536 

1,443 

1,870 

2,795,425 

1887 

7,073 

1,580 

1,994 

3,075,925 

1888 

7,535 

1,674 

2,134 

3,360,950 

1889 

7,821 

1,765 

2,204 

3,706,375 

1800 

8,127 

1,911 

2,321 

3,999,375 

1891 

8,827 

2,032 

2,412 

4,272,025 

1892 

9,539 

2,282 

2,723 

4,786,150 

1893 

10,474 

2,484 

3,048 

5,308,500 

1894 

10,847 

2,583 

3,126 

5,677,800 

1895 

11,651 

2,836 

3,361 

6,207,475 

1896 

12,314 

3,022 

3,501 

6,786,100 

1897 

12,520 

3.145 

3,673 

7,143,950 

1898 

12,630 

3,212 

3,690 

7,430,000 

1899 

12,625 

3,233 

3,695 

7,496,100 

1900 

12,676 

3,237 

3,650 

7,582,525 

1901 

12,781 

3,248 

3,711 

7,610,850 

1903 

13,417 

3,280 

3,931 

7,781,400 

$423,497  $59,949  $483,446 

547,974  73,894  621,868 

576,542  74,927  651,469 

800,538  97,139  897,677 

906,794  117,631  1,024,425 

1,021,712  124,785  1,146,497 

1,114,448  136,074  1,250,522 

1,197,476  145,904  1,343,380 

1,165,224  121,883  1,287,107 

1,246,781  122,971  1,369,752 

1,276,150  137,021  1,413,171 

1,288,066  134,755  1,422,820 

1,320,280  126,792  1,447,072 

1,334,643  161,186  1,495,829 

1,329,685  126,057  1,455,742 

1,366,485  311,369  1,677,854 

1,386,502  242,310  1,628,812 

1,511,624  283,682  1,795,306 

1,608,974  365,042  1,974,016 

1,674,985  437,684  2,112,669 

2,100,326  523,933  2,630,259 

2,408,241  404,515  2,812,756 

3,007,928  645,742  3,653,670 

3,234,658  409,249  3,643,907 

3,797,965  380,460  4,178,425 

4,062,450  390,378  4,452,828 

4,178,765  4S8,124  4,666,G89 

3,743,844  451,400  4,195,244 

3,661,500  364,298  4,025,798 

$1,642,900  3,340,250  326,093  3,666,343 

1,626,950  3,356,000  294,384  3,650,384 

1,628,250  3,776,200  328,858  3,705,058 

1,644,425  3,447,850  302,939  3,750,789 

1,690,386  3,829,425  368,376  4,197,801 

1,742,411  4,100,225  369,713  4,469,938 

1,789,236  4,374,250  395,415  4,769,665 

1,872,225  4,667,660  403,750  5,071,400 

2,096,025  5,171,950  430,088  5,602,038 

2,213,755  5,574,705  426,861  6,001,566 

2,315,755  6,022,130  413,490  6,435,620 

2,355,700  6,355,075  369,630  6,724,705 

3,093,275  7,372,025  405,090  7,777,715 

3,379,700  8,165,850  430,715  8,596,565 

3,590,975  8,899,475  500,655  9,400,130 

3,708,975  9,386,775  538,098  9,924,873 

3,874,625  10,082,100  556,650  10,638,750 

4.010.250  10,796.350  f!37.815  11.134.165 

4,306,650  11,450,600  758,215  12,208,815 

4,320,896  11,750,895  724,249  12,475,144 

4,324,260  11,820,350  845,085  12,665,435 

4,398,150  11,980,675  797,690  12,778,365 

5,993,025  13,603,875  1,286,890  14,890,765 

5,927,575  13,708,975  1,656,505  15,365,480 


*  Overlay  for  1901  and  1902  includes  Metropolitan  Park  tax  for  three  years,  viz.  1900,  1901  and 
1902. 


TABLE. 


Rate  per 
$1000 

Town 
Appropriation. 

Sewerage 
Tax. 

State  Tax. 

County  Tax 

.    Overlay. 

Total 
Tax  Levy. 

Year. 

94  40 

5  50 

§1,472  10 

1850 

3  729  17 

S505  08 

$88  90 

§4,323  15 
4,840  20 

1S51 

0  50 

4,150  00 

191  43 

1S52 

7  SO 

6,850  00 
8,550  00 
9,200  00 

$270  00 
270  00 
405  00 

505  09 
527  40 

527  40 

108  14 
270  14 
353  09 

7,7.33  23 

0,(il7  54 

10,485  49 

1S5U 

8  50 

1S54 

8  :tu 

1S55 

H  70 

10,450  00 

540  00 

527  40 

398  34 

11,915  74 

1850 

11  77 

15,000  00 

810  00 

659  25 

480  59 

16,949  84 

1S57 

7  20 

9,100  00 

324  00 

570  06 

350  40 

10,344  46 

1S5S 

7  SO 

10,480  00 
10,850  00 

270  00 
226  00 

620  73 

658  74 

399  04 
413  31 

11,769  77 
12,147  05 

1S50 

7  SO 

ISOO 

0  50 

11,960  00 
13,800  00 
19,125  00 

483  00 
2,929  15 

1,403  15 
1,190  81 

500  00 
268  28 

14,346  15 
18,188  24 

ISOl 

11  GO 

1SA2 

15  SO 

3,864  00 

1,190  81 

880  00 

25,059  81 

iso:i 

l:t    10 

17,550  00 

3,864  00 

1,189  19 

21,150  87 
28,027  34 

1S4(4 

15  70 

17,800  00 

8,413  00 

1,298  01 

516  33 

1SU5 

21  00 

20,343  47 

5,370  00 

1,423  26 

30,1.30  73 

1S06 

le  00 

8,950  00 

1,594  05 

30,490  90 

1S07 

17  00 

28,950  00 
36,100  00 

3,580  00 
4,475  00 

1,650  98 
1,821  77 

1,365  55 
2,225  71 

35,546  53 
44,622  48 

ISOS 

20  00 

ISOO 

15  00 

33,716  00 

4,475  00 

1,821  77 

1,410  13 

41,422  90 

1S70 

15  00 

37,570  00 

4,475  00 

1,821  77 

87  00 

43,053  77 

1S71 

10  50 

3,660  00 

2,122  32 

64,042  46 

is7a 

15  50 

51,325  00 
62,061  84 
65,990  16 

4,117  50 
3,660  00 
3,060  00 

2,345  72 
2,504  53 
2,347  99 

027  04 

909  74 

1,445  10 

58,415  26 
69,136  11 
73,443  25 
62,873  56 

1S73 

15   SO 

1S74 

10   00 

1S75 

i:t  00 

55,585  00 

4,2S4  (H) 

1,405  01 

1,509  55 

1S70 

12  50 

48,107  00 
43,703  06 

3,570  00 
2,380  00 

2,003  03 
1,719  22 

912  53 
2,873  20 

54,682  56 
50,675  57 

1S77 

12  00 

1S7S 

15  00 

51,861  55 

1,190  00 

1,719  22 

2,630  37 

57,401  14 

IS70 

14  25 

47,545  61 
46,624  12 

3,570  00 
3,570  00 

1,793  96 
1,793  96 

1,498  40 
1 ,593  69 

54,407  97 
53,581  66 

ISSO 

13   SO 

ISSl 

14  SO 

50,048  81 
55,303  71 

4,700  00 
3,330  00 

1,703  96 
2,242  45 

1,492  84 
2,268  13 

58,095  61 
63,224  29 

1SS2 

14  40 

1SS3 

l.t  SO 

56,777  52 

4,440  00 

2,042  40 

1,639  21 

04,899  13 

1SS4 

14  20 

63,753  64 
65,306  23 
72,350  50 
75,104  03 
79,552  (;9 
85,335  80 
104,0C.l  87 
123,604  46 

?,330  00 
3,030  00 
5,895  00 
5.895  00 
5,880  00 
5,145  00 
4,410  00 
5,7i'7  50 

2,373  35 
2.302  60 
2,750  47 
3,307  77 
4,558  50 
4,733  83 
4,733  83 

1,817  24 
1,112  12 
1,414  56 
1,550  40 
1,923  21 
1,536  56 
1,779  04 

71,274  23 
72,711  04 
82,416  53 
85,857  29 
91,014  40 
96,751    19 
114,984  74 

1SS5 

l.t  AO 

1SS6 

14  00 

1SS7 

i:t  00 

1SS8 

1:)  00 

isse 

i:t  to 

ISOO 

1 1  20 

ISOl 

15   so 

$646 

75 

0.428  30 

4,834  62 

141,271  72 

IS02 

14  40 

121,014  98 

1,649 

14 

8,225  00 

6,710  22 

3,927  41 

141,532  75 

1S03 

14  24» 

123,852  57 

4,041 

00 

0,680  (O 

7,105  07 

5,514  76 

147,185  20 

1S04 

14  SO 

137,973  25 

5,581 

48 

6,896  00 

9,307  02 

5,418  73 

164,176  48 

1S05 

15  20 

1  .'■>4-.0'^?  74 

r.  -81 

48 

r..«77  50 

9.865  44 

3.064  11 

180,981  27 

iso« 

15  GO 

165,521  31 

12.182  21 

0.877  50 

9,307  02 

3.915  46 

197,803  50 

1807 

16  70 

187,636  69 

7,100  42 

6,046  00 

11,018  42 

3.314  37 

215,714  00 

1898 

17  00 

191,391  10 

9,645 

53 

6,645  00 

12,007  07 

3.013  69 

222.702  30 

1899 

18  00 

199,837  41 

0,431 

01 

6,645  00 

11,857  11 

3,309  39 

237,310  57 

1900 

16  30 

206,635  82 

0,727 

23 

7,437  50 

13,388  55 

11,403  29* 

248,052  39 

1901 

17  20 

237,017  27 

10,561 

13 

6,375  00 

13,355  88 

4,838  98« 

272,148  26 

1902 

ADDENDA. 


Page  i6.     Foot  note.     Daniel  Green,  Jr.  should  read  Gould. 

Page  29.     Foot  note.     Read  June  17,  1894,  instead  of  1893. 

Page  133.  The  location  of  the  "Emerson  Tavern"  is  not  clearly  indi- 
cated. It  was  situated  on  what  is  now  a  vacant  lot,  corner  of  East 
Emerson  and  Lebanon  Streets.  Here  >.tood,  after  the  inn  was  moved 
across  to  the  other  side  of  Lebanon  Street,  the  homestead  of  the  late 
Amos  P.  Lyude.  A  few  years  ago  this  was  removed  to  the  opposite 
side  of  Lebanon  Street,  and  is  now  the  home  of  his  son,  A.  Wilbur 
Lynde.  The  sign  of  the  inn  had  on  it  the  square  and  compass,  and  a 
star.  The  old  well-sweep  and  Ell  Pond  Brook  are  seen  in  the  fore- 
ground. 

Page  289.  The  names  of  W.  DeHaven  Jones  and  William  A.  Dole,  Civil 
vService  Commissioners  were  omitted. 

In  the  list  of  Town  and  City  officers,  pp.  280-88,  the  names  of  those  who 
served  the  Town  as  Overseers  of  the  Poor  and  Highway  Surveyors 
were  omitted.  Most  of  the  time  until  I8S7,  the  Selectmen  were  also 
Overseers  of  the  Poor  and  Highway  Surveyors.  That  year  Henry  G. 
Fields,  John  Singer,  Jr.,  and  Martha  D.  Bale  were  elected  Overseers 
of  the  Poor.  The  Board  remained  the  same  until  1897,  except  that 
Joshua  T.  Nowell  was  elected  in  1893,  instead  of  John  Singer,  Jr.,  and 
Thomas  VV.  Ripley  in  1894,  instead  of  Joshua  T.  Nowell.  In  1897  the 
following  were  elected  and  served  until  Melrose  became  a  city: 
Sidney  H.  Buttrick,  Thomas  W.  Ripley  and  Matilda  E.  Stantial. 
James  Marshall,  George  P.  Fuller  and  Walter  B.  Ellis  were  elected 
Highway  Surveyors  in  I879,  and  A.  Wilbur  Lynde  in  1880.  The 
Selectmen  again  resumed  both  of  these  duties  until  1890,  when  Walter 
B.  Ellis  was  elected  Superintendent  of  Streets,  remaining  until  1897, 
when  he  was  succeeded  by  James  Marshall,  who  served  until  Melrose 
became  a  city. 


FIRST  PIANO  EVER  OWNED  IN  MAI.DEN.' 

It  was  owued  by  Rebecca  Lvnue  Eaton,  corner  Main  Street 

and  Goodyear  Avenue. 


APPENDIX.-A. 

ACT  OF  INCORPORATION. 

Commonwealth    of     Massachusetts     in     the     Year    One 
Thousand  Eight   Hundred  and  Fifty. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in 
General  Court  assembled  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same 
as  follows: 

Section  i.  All  that  part  of  the  town  of  Maiden,  in  the 
County  of  Middlesex,  which  lies  north  of  the  foiiowinf^  line, 
to  wit:  Beginning  at  the  monument  set  up  at  the  junction  of 
the  towns  of  Saugus,  North  Chelsea  and  Maiden;  thence  run- 
ning north  eighty-eight  degrees,  twelve  minutes  west,  to  the 
town  of  Medford;  said  line,  where  it  crosses  Main  Street  so 
called,  being  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven  feet  south  of  the 
mile  stone  standing  on  the  easterly  side  of  said  street,  south  of 
the  dwelling  house  of  Joseph  Lynde,  2d,  and  on  Washington 
Street,  one  hundred  and  twenty-two  feet  north  of  the  land  of 
Robert  T.  Barrett,  on  said  Street,  and  the  most  northerly 
corner  of  said  Barrett's  land,  adjoining  land  of  John  J.  Mahoney, 
is  hereby  incorporated  into  a  town  by  the  name  of  Melrose; 
and  the  said  town  of  Melrose  is  hereby  vested  with  all  the 
powers,  privileges,  rights  and  immunities,  and  made  subject 
to  all  the  duties  and  regulations  to  which  other  towns  are 
entitled  and  subjected  by  the  constitution  and  laws  of  the 
Commonwealth. 

Section  2.  The  inhabitants  of  said  town  of  Melrose  shall 
be  holden  to  pay  all  arrearages  of  taxes,  legally  assessed  upon 
them  before  the  passage  of  this  act,  and  also  their  proportion 
of  such  State  and  County  taxes  as  may  be  assessed  upon  them 
before  the  taking  of  the  next  State  valuation  (said  proportion 
to  be  ascertained  and  determined  by  the  last  town  valuation 
of  the  town  of  Maiden)  to  the  Treasurer  and  Collector  of  said 
town,  and  all  moneys  now  in  the  treasury  of  said  town  of 
Maiden,  or  may  hereafter  be  received  from  taxes  already 
assessed,  or  directed  to  be  assessed,  shall  be  applied  to  the 
purposes  for  which  they  were  raised  and  assessed  in  like  man- 
ner as  if  this  act  had  not  been  passed. 


478  HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 

Section  3.  The  said  towns  of  Maiden  and  Melrose  shall  be 
respectively  liable  for  the  support  of  all  persons  who  now  do, 
or  hereafter  shall,  stand  in  need  of  relief  as  paupers,  whose 
settlement  was  gained  by,  or  derived  from  a  settlement  gained 
or  derived  within  their  respective  limits. 

Section  4.  The  inhabitants  of  the  town  of  Melrose  shall  be 
holden  to  pay  their  just  and  equitable  proportion  of  all  debts 
due  from  said  town  of  Maiden,  and  shall  be  entitled  to  receive 
their  just  and  equitable  proportion  of  the  value  of  all  property, 
real  and  personal,  and  of  all  assets  now  owned  and  held  by 
said  town  of  Maiden;  and  in  case  said  towns  shall  not  agree 
in  respect  to  a  division  of  property,  funds,  debts,  town  paupers, 
or  state  or  county  taxes,  the  Court  of  Common  Pleas  for  the 
County  of  Middlesex,  shall  upon  the  petition  of  either  town 
appoint  three  competent  and  disinterested  persons  to  hear  and 
award  thereon,  and  their  award  or  the  award  of  any  two  of 
them,  being  accepted  by  said  court,  shall  be  final. 

Section  5.  Any  justice  of  the  peace  within  and  for  the 
County  of  Middlesex,  may  issue  his  warrant,  directed  to  any 
principal  inhabitant  of  the  town  of  Melrose,  requiring  him  to 
notify  and  warn  the  inhabitants  thereof,  qualified  to  vote  in 
town  affairs,  to  meet  at  the  time  and  place  therein  appointed, 
for  the  purpose  of  choosing  all  such  town  officers,  as  town 
officers  are,  by  law,  authorized  and  required  to  choose  at  their 
annual  meetings.  Such  justice,  or,  in  his  absence,  such  prin- 
ciple inhabitant,  shall  preside  until  the  choice  of  moderator  of 
said  meeting. 

Section  6.  The  town  of  Melrose  is  hereby  made  liable  to 
pay  all  expenses  that  may  legally  accrue,  in  consequence  of 
the  action  of  the  County  Commissioners,  of  the  County  of 
Middlesex  upon  any  petition  now  pending  over  any  way  in  the 
town  aforesaid. 

Section  7.  This  act  shall  take  effect,  from  and  after  its 
passage. 

House  of  Retkeskntatives,  May  3,  1850. 
Passed  to  be  enacted. 

Ensign  H.  Kellogg,  Speaker. 

In  Senate,  May  3,  1850. 
Passed  to  be  enacted. 

Marshall  P.  Wilder,  President. 

May  3,  1850.     Approved.     George  N.  Briggs. 


APPENDIX.— B. 

REPORT  OF  ADJUSTMENT  COMMITTEE. 

"  W/iej'cas,  The  General  Court  of  Massachusetts  by  an  act 
passed  the  third  day  of  May,  A.  D.  1850,  did  set  off  and  incor- 
porate a  portion  o£  the  town  of  Maiden,  in  the  County  of 
Middlesex  to  be  a  Town  by  the  name  of  Melrose,  and  by  said 
act  did  authorize  and  empower  the  said  Towns  of  Maiden  and 
Melrose  to  make  a  just  and  equitable  settlement  of  all  the 
financial  concerns  appertaining  to  said  Towns  and  of  the  prop- 
erty belonging-  to  the  same:  —  and  whereas  the  said  Town  of 
Maiden  at  legal  meetings  of  the  inhabitants  thereof,  duly 
called  for  that  purpose,  did  make  choice  of  Gilbert  Haven, 
Lemuel  Cox  and  Daniel  A.  Perkins  as  a  Committee  with  full 
power  and  authority  to  make  such  settlement  with  the  inhabi- 
tants of  said  Melrose.  And  whereas  the  said  Town  of  Melrose 
at  a  legal  meeting  of  the  inhabitants  thereof  duly  called  for 
that  purpose,  did  make  choice  of  George  Emerson,  Isaac 
Emerson  and  Aaron  Green  as  a  Committee  with  full  power  and 
authority  to  make  such  settlement  with  the  inhabitants  of  said 
Maiden.  Now  therefore,  know  all  men  by  these  presents,  that 
we  the  above  named  Committee,  having  frequently  met  and 
fully  understanding  the  subject  committed  to  us  by  said  Towns, 
do  hereby  appraise  the  property  belonging  to  said  Towns  of 
Maiden  and  Melrose,  as  follows,  to  wit: 

Real   Estate. 

The  Alms  House,  Farm  and  buildings  thereon,  .  $11,500.00 
The  House  and  land  used  by  the  Volunteer  Engine 

No.  2,    ........         .       1,223.00 

The  House  and  land  used  by  the  F^ndeavor  Engine 

No.  3, 850.00 

The    House    and    land    used    by    General    Taylor 

Engine  No.  4,        .......  850.00 

The  House  and  land  used  by  the  Hook  and  Ladder 

Company 300.00 

The   Hearse  House  near  Mr.   Brintnall's  and  land 

under  the  same,  ......  166.OO 


480 


HISTORY  OF  MELROSE. 


The  Pound  near  Mr.  Faulkner's,         ....  ^90.00 

The  Pump  and  Well,  Corner  of  Salem  and  Main  Sts.,  40.00 

Total  of  Real  Estate,     ....  $15,019.00 


Personal  Estate. 

The  various  Engines  with  their  apparatus,  Alms 
House  Furniture,  Hearses,  Iron  Safe,  etc., 
amounted  to         .....         . 

Amount  raised  in  1850  for  paying  Town  Debt, 

Due  from  the  State  for  Paupers, 

Uncollected  Taxes  of  1848  and  1849, 

Cash  in  Treasury  March  i,  1850, 

Real  Estate, 

Total, 

From  which  was  deducted  various  demands  against 
the  towns  of  Maiden  and  Melrose,  which  had 
been  either  paid  or  assumed  by  Maiden,  amount- 
ing to  the  sum  of  ...... 

Leaving  a  balance  to  be  divided  between  the  two 
towns,  of       .......         . 

Of  which  balance  the  Town  of  Melrose  is  to  receive 
according  to  the  valuation  of  1849,  21  per  cent., 

In  making  this  settlement,  it  is  hereby  mutually 
agreed  that  the  Town  of  Maiden  shall  take  and 
hold  all  the  property  mentioned  in  the  above 
schedule,  according  to  the  appraisement,  ex- 
cepting that  portion  hereafter  enumerated, 
which  shall  be  taken  and  held  by  the  said 
Town  of  Melrose  at  said  appraisal,  viz: 

The  Engine  house  and  land,  situate  in  Melrose, 

The  Engine  Endeavor  No.  3,  and  Apparatus,  . 

Furniture  in  said  Engine  House, 

Hearse  and  Harness,  and  Hearse  Runners, 

Total 

The  portion  of  the  public  property  belonging  to 
Melrose  is     .......         . 


$  71837-56 

2,300.00 

159.00 

939.60 

855.46 

$12,091.62 
1 5. u  1 9.00 

$27,110.62 


$18,033.16 

9,077.46 

$1,906.26 


850.00 

1 ,800.00 

20.00 

110.00 

$2,780.00 
$1,906.26 


APPENDIX.  481 

Leaving  a  balance  due  from  Melrose  to  Maiden  of,    .  S873.74 
From  this  balance  the  Committees  allowed  various 

other  items  amounting  to,   .         .         .         .         .  382.74 


Leaving  a  total  balance  against  Melrose  of      .         .        S491.00 

The  Committees  agree  that  the  several  Burying  Grounds 
shall  not  be  appraised,  but  shall  remain  the  property  and  be  at 
the  disposal  of  the  Towns  in  which  the  same  are  located. 

And  the  said  Committees  hereby  agree  that  all  demands  in 
favor  or  against  the  Town  of  Maiden,  which  originated  prior 
to  May  3,  1850,  which  ma)'  hereafter  come  to  light,  shall  be 
settled  by  and  between  the  two  Towns  on  the  same  principles 
that  have  governed  this  settlement;  excepting  that  Melrose 
shall  not  be  liable  to  pay  any  costs  that  may  arise  on  account 
of  any  taxes  that  have  been  received  from  the  City  of  Charles- 
town. 

In  testimony  whereof,  we,  the  said  Committees,  have  here- 
unto interchangeably  set  our  hands  and  seals  this  first  day  of 
May  eighteen  hundred  and  fifty-one. 

Gilbert  Haven,  [seal] 

Lemuel  Cox,  [seal] 

Daniel  A.  Perkins,     [seal] 

Committee  of  the  Town  of  Maiden. 
George  Emerson,         [seal] 
Isaac  Emerson,  [seal] 

Aaron  Green,  [seal] 

Committee  of  the  Town  of  Melrose. 
Executed    in    presence   of 

JoN-^  Cochran. 
William  E.  Fuller. 
Middlesex,  ss..  May  i,  1851. 

Then  personally  appeared  the  above  named  Gilbert  Haven, 
Lemuel  Cox,  Daniel  A.  Perkins,  George  Emerson,  Isaac  Emer- 
son and  Aaron  Green,  and  acknowledged  the  above  instru* 
ment  to  be  their  free  act  and  deed. 

Before  me,  Jon-^  Cochran,  Justice  of  the  Peace. 


APPENDIX.— C. 

AN  ACT  TO  SET  OFF  A  PART  OF  THE  TOWN  OF 
STONEHAM  AND  ANNEX  THE  SAME  TO  THE 
TOWN    OF   MELROSE. 

Commonwealth    of    Massachusetts       In     the    Year    One 
Thousand  Eight  Hundred  and  Fifty-three. 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  in 
General  Court  assembled,  and  by  the  authority  of  the  same 
as  follows: 

Section  i.  So  much  of  the  town  of  Stoneham  in  the  County 
of  Middlesex,  as  lies  of  a  line  commencing  at  the  stone  monu- 
ment between  the  towns  of  Stoneham  and  Melrose,  at  the 
Wilson  place,  and  thence  running  north  thirteen  degrees,  thirty 
minutes;  east  two  hundred  and  seventy-four  rods,  to  a  stone 
monument  between  the  towns  of  Stoneham  and  South  Reading, 
with  all  the  inhabitants  and  estates  thereon,  is  hereby  set  off 
from  said  town  of  Stoneham  and  annexed  to  said  town  of 
Melrose. 

Section  2.  The  said  inhabitants  and  estates  so  set  off  shall 
be  liable  to  pay  all  taxes  that  have  been  legally  assessed  on 
them  by  the  town  of  Stoneham,  in  the  same  manner  as  if  this 
act  had  not  been  passed. 

Section  3.  If  any  persons,  who  have  heretofore  gained  a 
legal  settlement  in  said  town  of  Stoneham,  by  reason  of  resi- 
dence on  the  territory  set  off  as  aforesaid,  or  who  may  derive 
such  settlement  from  any  such  residence,  shall  hereafter  come 
to  want  and  stand  in  need  of  relief  or  support  as  paupers,  they 
■"shall  be  relieved  and  supported  by  the  town  of  Melrose,  in  the 
same  manner  as  if  they  had  gained  a  legal  settlement  in  that 
town. 

Section  4.  The  Town  of  Melrose  shall  pay  to  the  treasurer 
of  the  town  of  Stoneham,  until  the  next  decennial  census,  the 
just  proportion  of  all  State  and  County  taxes  which  may  be 
assessed  upon  said  Stoneham,  in  proportion  to  the  valuation 
of  the  polls  and  estates  hereby  set  off  to  Melrose.     The  said 


APPENDIX.  483 

proportion  shall  be  fixed  by  the  valuation  of  the  said  polls  and 
estates  next  preceding  the  passage  of  this  act. 

Section  5.  In  case  the  surplus  revenue  of  the  United  States, 
heretofore  received  by  said  town  of  Stoneham,  should  ever  be 
refunded,  the  town  of  Melrose  shall  pay  such  proportion  of  the 
same  as  the  valuation  of  the  polls  and  estates  of  said  territory 
bears  to  the  whole  valuation  of  said  town  of  Stoneham. 

Section  6.  The  schoolhouse,  with  lot  of  land  on  which 
it  stands  in  said  territory,  shall  be  the  property  of  the  town  of 
Melrose,  from  and  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  and  the  said 
town  of  Melrose  shall  pay  to  the  said  town  of  Stoneham,  the 
sum  of  fifteen  hundred  and  thirty-one  dollars  as  the  price  of 
the  same,  in  three  years  after  the  passage  of  this  act,  with 
interest  annually. 

Section  7.  Peter  Green,  Jonathan  Green,  Joshua  Green, 
Jesse  Green,  second,  and  James  S.  H.  Green,  who  reside  in 
Stoneham,  near  the  territory  hereby  set  off  to  Melrose,  and 
any  other  occupants  of  the  houses  in  which  the  said  Greens 
reside,  shall  have  the  privilege  of  sending  their  children  to  the 
schoolhouse  in  said  territory  and  the  town  of  Stoneham  shall 
every  year  pay  to  the  town  of  Melrose  for  the  schooling  of 
said  children,  so  much  of  the  whole  sum  expended  by  the  town 
of  Stoneham  for  schools  and  schooling  in  every  year  as  the 
number  of  the  children  so  sent  to  school  out  of  Stoneham  into 
Melrose  bears  to  the  whole  number  of  children  belonging  to 
Stoneham  attending  school  during  the  same  year. 

Section  8.  This  act  shall  take  effect  from  and  after  its 
passage. 

House  of  Representatives,  March  12th,  1853. 

Passed  to  be  enacted. 

George  Bliss,  Speaker. 
In  Senate,  March  15,  1853. 
Passed  to  be  enacted, 

C.  H.  Warren,  President. 
March  15,  1853.     Approved. 

John  H.  Clifford. 


INDEX. 


Abbott,  Benjamin  F.,  231,  280,  398; 
Guy  E.,  418  ;  John  H.,  290. 

Abigail,  the,  5. 

Abousett  [Saugus]  River,  5,  31,  32, 
52,  78. 

Academy  Hall,  143,  168,  176,  191, 
264,  265. 

Adams,  Charles  H.,  195,  251,  270, 
289,  315,  320,  321,  322,  353,  354, 
360,  381,  386,  400,  402,  415,  416, 
417,  422,  423,  441;  Herbert  B.,  37, 
38;  Rev.  John,  138;  John  Q.,  231  ; 
Rev.  J.  Augustus,  139;  Rev.  John 
G.,  17,  126,  168,  169,  367  ;  Martha 
A.,  126;  Richard,  41;  Samuel,  459, 
462;  William  H.,  175. 

Adjustment  Committee,  Report  of, 
478-481. 

Amateur  Gardeners'  Society,  442. 

American    Benefit    Society,  444. 

American    Legion   of   Honor,  443. 

Ancient  Order  of  Hibernians,  445 ; 
of  United   Workmen,    443. 

Alden,  David  A.,  228,  449. 

Allen,  Charles  S.,  411;  John  L., 
227,  230;  Rev.  Ralph  W.,  139; 
William  H.,  175,230,  336;  Wil- 
liam S.,  163. 

Altamont  Avenue,  78. 

Alyward,  Patrick,  418. 

Amadou,  Arthur  F.,  272. 

America,  3,  4,  79,  91,  108,  209. 

American  Unitarian  Association, 
176,  177,  180. 

American  Bell  Telephone  Co.,  375. 

Ames,  Philander,  294. 

Amesbury,  Mass.,  .192. 

Ammann,  Albert,  422. 

Amphion  Club,  361-364. 

Anderson,  John  H.  L.,  228,  238; 
Leonard,    238 ;    Robert,   217. 

Andover,  Mass.,  42,  70,  71. 

Andrew,  John  A.,  218,  233. 

Andrews,  Edwin  A.,  238  ;  John  L,., 
231,  285. 


Andros,  Edmund,  70. 
Anoka,  Minn.,  455. 
Anthony,  Rev.  A.  W.,  167. 
Anniversaries:    Fiftieth,    415  ;  One 

Hundredth,      416;      Centennial 

Fourth,    417  ;     Maiden's     250th, 

417-422. 
Antietam,  battle  of,  84. 
Antliff,  Rev.  J.  Cooper,  148. 
Appleton,  Francis  G.,  440;  Samuel, 

108. 
Appomattox,  236. 
Arlington,     [Menotomy],      Mass., 

210,  297,  301,  326. 
Armington,  Albert  H.,  451. 
Armstrong,  Charles  E.,  418. 
Ashland  Street,  55,  94,  95,  128,  126, 

157. 
Assessors,  Town  and  City,  282,  283. 
Astle,  Abel,  231  ;  James,  226,  231. 
Atwood,  Joel,  231  ;   Sullivan  C,  231. 
Auditors,  Tcwn  and  City,  285,  286. 
Austin,  George  L.,  368,  408. 
Australian  Ballot,  446. 
Avery,  Ephraim,  277,  280  ;  John  Q. 

A.,    49;    Kittridge,     169,    Lester, 

418. 
Avon  Club,  359. 
Avon  Street,  460. 


Babb,  Edward  E.,  434;  Walter,  169, 
172,  192,  223,  226,  231,  277,  281, 
288,  310,  391,  434,  452. 

Babson,  Joseph  E,  368. 
Bacall,  William  F.,  338,  450. 
Bacon,  George  A.,  221,  224. 
Bailey,  William,  343,  350,  397. 
Baker,  Charles  A.,  340;  Rev.  Henry, 

140,    452;    Joseph   P.,   386;    Rev. 

Smith,  151. 
Balch,  John,  5. 
Baldwin,  Clark  B.,  246  ;  John,  230  ; 

Samuel,  75,  76. 


INDEX. 


485 


Bale,  Rev.  Albert  G.,  147,  148,  150. 
151,399,400,452;  Martha  D.,  475, 

Ballou,  Rev.  Hosea,168,  169,  192. 

Baltimore,  Md.,  37,  220,;371. 

Bancroft,  H.,  161. 

Banfield,  Addisou  W.,  224. 

Bangor,  Me.,  134. 

Baptist  Church,  First,  120,  139,  155; 
164,  177,  181,  191, 200,  385,  388,  409  ; 
history  of,  160-163  ;  affiliated  so- 
cieties, 163;  war  contribution,  236. 

Barber,  Rev.  H.  H.,  177,  178. 

Barker,  JosiahH.,  231;  Samuel,  231. 

Barnard,  John  M.,  238. 

Barnes,  Rev.  William  S.,  163,  176, 
180,  452. 

Barrelle,  Rev.  Almond,  163. 

Barrett,  Artemas,  27,  39,  58,  60,  86 
88,  89,  107,  122,  168,  169,  188,  189, 
206,  212,  231,  264,  265,  280,  289, 
295,  461,  467  ;  Augustus,  107,  169, 
230;  Charles,  238;  Charles  L., 
238;  David  A.,  238;  Fanny,  107; 
George  W.,  282,  404;  Henry  W., 
226  ;  Jacob,  104  ;  James,  34,  43,  49, 
99,  100,  101,  105,  169;  James  A., 
230;  J.  Augustus,  360,  403;  Jona- 
than, 16,  48,  98,  101,  102,  103,  104, 
105,  106,  107,  169,  226,  230;  Joseph, 
103,  104,  105,  189,  211,  212,  213; 
Peter,  107  ;  Rebecca,  102  ;  Robert 
T.,476;  Simon  H.,  293;  William, 
81  ;  William  E.,  107,  201,  258, 
288,  289,  320,  321,  350,  402,  408, 
454. 

Barrett  Block,  404. 

Barrett  Lane,  49,  102,  105. 

Barrett  Mount,  29,  82,  105,  207. 

Barron,  Elliot  F.,  238  ;  Henry,  238. 

Barry.  Charles  C,  163,  198,  252,  258, 
260,  269,  274,  336,  347,  349,  353, 
354, 360, 362, 363,  402,  413,  415,  449 ; 
Royal  P.,  175,  176,  192,  193,  196, 
198,  231,  2.38,  260,  268,  287,  293 
295,  298,  304,  .305,  319,  338,  341, 
344,  353,  358,  360,  390,  402.  403; 
S.  Maria,  341,  343;  William 
Francis,  222,  238. 

Bartlett,  George  W.,  231,  4.50;  Na- 
thaniel J.,  226,  230. 

Barton,   Charles  J.,    262,    267,   269 
272,  276,  281,  415,  418. 

Basford,  George  W.,  160. 

Batchelder,  George  W.,  238;  Harry 
A.,  281;  Peter,  231. 

Bates,  Rev.  Henry,  167  ;  John  L.. 
415,  420. 


Battery,  C,  246. 

Batts,  John,  85. 

Baxter,  Charles  S.,  416;  Sylvester 
325. 

Beacham's  Point,  9,   77,  86,  214,215. 

Beal,  Laban,  362. 

Bear  Hill,  24,  34,  35,  326,  327. 

Beard,  Rev.  Reuben  A.,  148. 

Bears,  George  W.,  160. 

Beckett,  James  M.,  230,  278,  280. 

Beebe,   Decius,    192,    196,    341,   402, 

403  ;  Kate  E.,  341. 
Bellevue  Golf  Club,  438,  439. 
Bellingham,  Richard,  41. 

Belmont,  Mass.,  297,  301,  326.  467. 
468. 

Belmont  Street,  303. 
Bell  Rock,  Maiden,  441. 
Bemis,  Charles  V.,  290;  Frank  N., 
419;  Rev.  Nathaniel,  139. 

Beuneson,  Phebe  N.,  348. 
Bennett,  Samuel,  135. 
Bennett's    Pond,    31,    32,    35,    321 
467. 

Benson,  Hannah  E.,  341 ;  Seth  E., 
121,  269,  302-305,  310,  311,  402, 
403,  407  ;  Block,  404. 

Berry,    George    E.,    272,    276,    415. 
Bertram,  James,  352. 

Berwick  Street,   143,   147,   168,   176, 

191,  264,  303,  406. 
Bibliography,  367-382. 
Bi-Ceutennial  of  Maiden.  144,  208. 

Bickford,  Caroline  C,  161  ;   Ira  H., 

230;  Nelson  W.,  238. 
Bicton,  Parish,  108. 
Bicknell,  George  J.,  158,  295,  304. 
Biffin,  James,  228. 
Bigelow,   Francis,  416  ;  George  T., 

229  ;   Liberty,  230  ;  Mrs.  Liberty, 

51,  53,  83,  84,  118,  344. 
Billerica,  Mass.,  70,.7l. 
Billings,  John  D.,  424. 
Bird,  Sylva,  144;  Tristram,  144,  ISq. 
Bird  Neighbors,  467-489. 
Bishop,  Lewis  O.,  418. 
Black  Ann's  Corner,  11,  25,  78,  103, 

212. 

Black,    Charles   E.,    418;  John  A., 
418. 

Black  Rock,  13,  26,  28,  67,  81,  309, 
324,  326. 


486 


INDEX. 


Blackstone,  Arthur  M.,  387;  Wil- 
liam, 5. 

Blades,  James  W.,  418. 

Blaisdell,  Charles  H.,  226,  230. 

Blake,  John,  265,  280,  284,  285,  329, 
409  ;  Nathan  D.,  268,  281,  295,  410- 

Blanchard,  Alfred,  160;  Annie  R., 
403;  Samuel  D.,  232. 

Blaney,  Benjamin,  72,  76,  90,  111, 
211,  213,  214,  215. 

Bliss,  George,  483. 

Blue  Hills,  25,  326,  327;  Reserva- 
tion, 25. 

Boardman,  Abijah,  134,  135;  Block, 
385,-386,  388,  434;  Charles,  200, 
230,  238  ;  George  F.,  139,  200,  230, 
282-285,  455;  Joseph,  122,  1.34; 
Thomas  C,  169. 

Board  of  Health,  established,  316. 

Board  of  Trade,  382,  414-416,  423. 

Bodwell,  Henry  A.,  238. 

Bogle,  Archibald,  238  ;  William, 
36,  81,  398,  399. 

Bolles,  Rev.  Edwin  C,  163,  172, 
198,  2.52,  4.53. 

Bond,  William,  214. 

Bonett,  Andrew  J.,  409. 

Booth,  John  Wilkes,  4.52. 

Boothby,  Asa,  A.,  418. 

Bordman,  Edward  K.,284,  288,349, 
400,  413;  Georgianna,  342,  349. 

Bosson,  Frank  H.,  336,  338. 

Boston  Harbor,  1,  2,  3,  4,  24. 

Boston,  IVfass.,  1,  3,  5,  8,  10,  11,  17, 
19,  21,  23,  26.  36,  37,  56,  57,  59,  78, 
79,  80,  84,  87,  97,  99,  101,  125, 
138,  145,  151,  173,  177,  191,  192, 
200,  206,  207,  208,  217,  236,  290, 
295,  296,  297,  298,  300,  301,  313, 
321,  325,  327,  328,  33G,  345,  362, 
368,  369,  377, 379,  380,  383,  385,  406, 
407,  4.30,  440,  4.55,  459,  461,  462. 

Boston  Rock,  25,  26,  28,  44,  47,  60, 
61,  63,  67,71,  72,  191,  331. 

Boston  Rubber  Shoe  Co.,  25,  67, 
163,  164. 

Bourne,  Mass.,  456. 

Bowden,  James  G.,  362,  363. 

Bowditch,  Ernest  W.,  126. 

Bower,  John,  38, 

Bowker,  Charles  F.,  231 ;  Joel,  230  ; 
Joseph  C,  231. 

Bowles,  Rev.  Benjamin  F.,  170. 

Boyd,  Charles  O.,  246;  Joseph  F,. 
281. 


Boys'  Brigade,  442. 

Boynton,  E.  Moody,  7,8;  William, 
281. 

Boyntonville,  [Wakefield]  Mass., 
303. 

Brackett,  Frances  A.,  152. 

Bradford,  Erastus  F.,  230. 

Brakenbury,  Will,  429. 

Brand,  Nathan  H.,  238. 

Brattle  Square  Church,  208,  209. 

Breeden,  Elnathan,  31,  48,  131,  212, 
460. 

Brewster,  William,  467. 

Bridge,  Ebenezer,  88 ;   Rev.   Henry 

M.,  139. 
Briggs,    Andrew    H.,  359;    George, 

E.,340;  George  N.,  478;  Moses, 

163,  277,  283,  284;  Oliver  L.,  173. 
Brighton,  Mass.,  58. 
Brintnall,  Thomas,  258. 
Brigham,  Arthur  L-,  392, 
Briry,  William  S.,  405. 
Brookfield,  Mass.,  110. 
Brookline,  Mass.,  56,  319,  320,  326. 
Brooklyn,  N.  Y.,  192,  371. 
Brooks,  Augustus,  231 ;  Caleb,  213  ; 

Rev.  Charles,  9,  458,  459;  Chalres 

G.,  355. 

Brown,  Charles  G.,  416;  Charles 
R.,  163;  Frank  H.,  32,  342; 
Frank  Q.,  403;  George  C,  231; 
G.  Stanley,  405  ;  George  T.,  278, 
310,  311,  318,  319,  329,  390,  408, 
451,  454;  Henry,  192,  449,  451; 
John,  18;  Jonas  G.,  238;  Jona- 
than, 461;  Lindley  R.,  152,  153; 
Norman  B.,  164;  Orrin,  226,  390; 
Rev.  Theron,  420;  Rev.  Thomas 
W.,  179,  180,  423  ;  William  C, 
423,  440. 

Brownell,  Charles  M.,  339,  340. 

Bruce,  Rev.  James  E.,  171. 

Bryant,  Dexter,  128,  233,  291,  309, 
359;  Napoleon  B.,  220,  221,  223, 
230,  277,  449;  Thomas  O.,  238; 
Wallace,  199. 

Buck,  Rev.  Edward  H.,  147. 

Buckingham,  Rev.  John  A.,  176. 

Buckman  Street,  Maiden,  45. 

Bucknam,  Joses,  17,  83  ;  Nathan, 
187  ;  Samuel,  101 ;  Wilton  F.,  58, 
60,  62,  71,  74,  83,  129. 

Buffum,  Adelbert  A.,  238;  Carlon, 
232 ;  C.  Edgar,  230,  356  ;  John, 
142,152,    153. 


INDEX. 


487 


Bugbee  &  Barrett,  385,  434. 

Bugbee,  Francis,  283,404;  Saimiel 
S.,  230. 

Bunker  Hill,  Battle  of,  see  Revolu- 
tion. 

Burden,  Thankful,  83. 

Burnham,  Emma,  146;  George 
P.,  238,  368  ;   Paschal  R.,  231,  238. 

Burditt,  Thomas,  188;  vSamuel,  216. 

Burgess,  William  B.,  161,  220,  222, 
228,  231,  277,  278,  280,  282,  285. 

Burke,  George  W.,  316,  392,  419, 
451. 

Burlington,  Mass.,  10. 

Burnett,  Andrew  J.,  32,  272,  275, 
276,  313,  415. 

Burr,  Rev.  Everett  D.,  163;  Lafay- 
ette, 412. 

Burrell  &  Swett  Block,  121,  404. 

Burrell,  William  A.,  305. 

Burrill,  Rev.  J.T.,  139. 

Bursley,  John,  5. 

Bush,  Henry  A.,  176. 

Butler,   Rev.  William,  140,  452. 

Buttrick,  John  P.,  231  ;  John  W., 
231;  Sidney  H.,  172,  194,  198,  257, 
267,  268,  273,  275,  281,  321,  356, 
360,  390,  392,  397,  412,  413,  417, 
418,  435. 

Cabot,  Mrs.  Edward  C,  319,  320. 

Calkins,  Alice  I.,  357. 

Call,  Thomas,  429. 

Cambridge,  Mass.,  8,  10,  56,  63,  70, 

103,   105,    213,  214,  216,  301,  310, 

327,  475. 
Camp  Totoway,  133, 
Cape  Ann,  3,  5. 
Cape  Cod,  2,  3. 

Captain's  Hill,  see  Wayte's  Mount. 
Carey,  Olive,  144. 
Carleton,  Albert  A,,  257,  424. 
Carnegie,    Andrew,    351-354. 
Carney,  Rev.  Daniel  J.,  181. 
Carpenter,  Rufus  S.,  195. 
Carpenters  and  Joiners  of  America, 

445. 
Carr,   Ernest  L.,  340,  363;   George 

E.,  360,  412. 
Carrie,   William    A.,  267,   272,  274, 

281,  299,  352,  414. 
Cascade,  the,  26,  28,  307. 
Casey,  Cornelius,  257. 
Cass,  Albert  H  .  418. 


Caswell,  D.  Evans,  165;  William  A 
392. 

Catholic    Church,    St.    Mary's,   see 

St.  Mary's  Church. 
Causeway  Street,  Boston,  407. 
Cedar  Park,  55. 

Cemeteries.  329-335 ;  Bell  Rock 
62,  108.  131,  186,  328.  411;  For- 
est Dale,  45,  49,  59,  63,  69, 
411;  Jewish,  335;  Soldiers' Lots 
set  apart,  225,  261.  262;  Up- 
ham,  117,  328;  Village  [Old 
Burial  Ground],  195,  197,  201. 
328,330,  333,  409;  Wyoming,  25. 
44.  45,  49,  60,  63,  65,  67,  69,  71 
121.  131,  134,  166,  257,  410,  424, 
441. 

Cemetery    Committees,    329,    332  ■ 

Trust  Funds,  333-335, 
Centennial  Club,  359. 
Centennial  Fourth,  the,  417. 
Central  R.  R.  Station,  406. 
Chadbourne,  Thomas  W.,  231,277, 

278,  285,  359,  449. 
Chamberlin,  Edmond,  60. 
Chambers,  John  L.,  238. 
Champlain  de,  vSamuel,  3,  4. 
Chandler,  Christie  L.,  409;  Herbert 

W.,  333,  409;   Roswell  W.,  238. 
Channel,  Guy  C.  193. 
Chapin,    Calvin    N.,    147,    151,    152. 

156,  159,  160,  231  ;  Joseph  A.,  238; 

Maria  L.,  274,  275,  348,  349. 
Charles,  Kinsr,   1,  2;    Marv  L.,  275, 

341,348,349. 

Charles  River,  1,  3,  5,  56,  57,  77. 
Charles  Street,  82. 
Charleston,  S.  C,  217. 

Charlestown,  Mass.,  "i-Q,  10-13,  16, 
17,  19,  26,  29.  32,  40-42,  45,  51.  56, 
57,  58,  62.  70,  71.  77-81,  91,  94,  97, 
98.  {)9.  118.  134.  207,  209,  372,  390, 
400,  401,  464. 

Chase,  Daniel  L  ,  226  ;  Ede  K.,  2.39  ; 
George  W.,  317. 

Charitable  Associations,  411.  412. 

Cheese  Rock,  see  Bear  Hill. 

Cheeseborough,  William,  11. 

Cheever,  .\ugustus  L.,  239. 

Chelmsford,  Mass.,  70,  71. 

Chelsea  Creek,  9. 

Chelsea.  Mass.,  5,  25,  '{6.  41-45,  47- 
49,  143,  212,  214.  296.  297,  30], 
405,    406,    457,   466,   477. 

Chelsea  Street,  Everett,  45. 


488 


INDEX. 


Chestnut   Hill    Reservoir,   35,    296, 

298. 
Chestnut  Street,  201. 
Cheever,    Augustus  L.,  227  ;  Frank 

H.,  392. 

Chever,  Sarah  A.,  127,  349. 

Chicago,  111.,  158,  181,  372,  373, 
376,  377,  394. 

Chickering,  Elmer,  382. 

Child,  Horace  E.,  403. 

Children  of  the  Revolution,  442. 

Chipman  Avenue,  125,  436,  437. 

Chipman's  Folly,  125. 

Chipman,  George  A.,  231,  239; 
George  W.,  156. 

Christian  and  Sanitary  Commis- 
sions, 235,  236. 

Church,  Asa  44;  Joanna,  200. 

Churchill,  J.  Wesley,  177,  3.59. 

Chute,  Robert  J.,  172,  23u. 

Cider  Mill,  the,  160. 

City  [Town]  Hall,  29,  31,  51,  121, 
155,  251.  2.54,  250,  261,  264-267, 
273,  292,  320,  323,  328,  340,  342, 
348,  353,  360,  362,  376,  382,  383, 
388,  391,  394-97,  399,  402,  406, 
413,  415-417,   424,  452,453. 

City  Solicitor,  286. 

Civil  War  [Great  Rebellion  of  1861- 
65],  84  ;  history  of,  216-263  ;  Fort 
Sumter  fired  on,  217;  votes  rela- 
tive to,  219;  conscription  act, 
drafts,  225-228  ;  list  of  first  draft, 
226,  227;  recruiting  committees, 
222,  227,  228 ;  second  draft,  228  ; 
list  subscribers  to  $5,650  war 
fund,  229-232,  235;  battles,  234, 
236;  representative  recruits,  233; 
relief  action,  234-236  ;  Christian 
and  Sanitary  Commissions,  235, 
236  ;  citizen  service  resume,  236  ; 
alphabetical  list  of  soldiers,  238- 
244;  minute  men  of  1861,  245; 
medals,  245;  list  for  bounty,   259. 

Clapp,  Otis  73. 

Clark,  Frederick  F  ,  239  ;  Henry  H., 
178;  Rev.  Hobart,  180;  James  Free- 
man, 371  ;  John  H.,  220,  221,  222, 
228,  229,  230,  278,  280,  281,  347, 
394;  Julius  S.,  193,  256,  261,  329, 
408,  450;  William,  231,  228. 

Clerks,  Town  and  City,  283,  284. 

Cleveland,  Rev.  Aaron,  457;  Rev. 
George  A.,  163,  164;  Grover,  404. 

Cleveland  Street,  52,  90. 

Cliflford,  John  H.,  483. 


Clinkard,  Caroline  W.,  368. 
Clithero,  Thomas  J.,  1.57. 
Close,  Emery,  231. 
Cobb,  John  W.,  230  ;  Rev.  Sylvauus, 
168,  192. 

Coburu,  Lewis  G.,  230,  235,  284. 

Cochrane,  Charles  W.,  454;  Char- 
lotte, 349;  Emily  G.,  97;  Isaac 
A.,  1.52,  1.53;  Jonathan,  143,  144, 
147,  150,  264,  265,  280,  282,  283, 
285,  329,  .331,  398,  425,  481;  Lo- 
renzo H.  M.,  307;  Mary,  144; 
Maurice  G.,  22,  97,  147,  320,  321  ; 
Nelson,  1.50,  152,  191,  223,  231, 
278,  280,  289,  308. 

Cogan,  John,  92;  Martha,  92. 

Coggswell,  Charles  H.,  33. 

Colby,  Rev.  Lewis,  163. 

Cole,  Edward  C,  418;  John,  207. 

Collectors,  Town  and  City,  284. 

College  Hill,  25. 

Collins,  Walter  R.,  169,  231. 

Ctilman,  John,  188. 

Committees  of  Correspondence  In- 
spection and  Safety,  124,  208. 

Commons,  The,  16-20,  42,  45,  51, 
76,  82,  93,  94. 

Commonwealth  Avenue,  Boston,  3. 

Concert    Hall,    139,    176,    177,    219, 

265,  347,  388. 
Conant,  Roger,  5;  William  F.,  180, 

411. 

Concord  Fight,  86. 
Concord,  Mass.,  86,  87,  459. 
Cone,  Edwin  T.,  166. 

Converse,  Betsey,  161;  Edward,  59; 

Elisha  S..  45,  66,  67,  193,  290,  420; 

Josiah,  47;  Josias,  62;  Mary  D., 

69. 
Conway,  Daniel,  232  ;  John  230. 
Cook,  Charles  W.,  194,  281,  283,  301, 

410;    Israel,    212,   430,    4.59,   460; 

William,  226;  William  P.,  451. 
Cooledge,  Rev.  J.  A.,  170. 
Cooney,  Rev.  L.  A.,  164. 
Cooper,  Rev.  James,  163,  220. 
Copeland,  Anne  C,  294;    Benjamin 

F.,  371;  Charles,  297,  371. 
Copp's  Hill,  Boston,  101. 
Corson,  J.  V.,  409. 

Corey,  Deloraine  P.,  5,  7,  8,  9,  11, 
14,  15,  19,  20,  25,  30,  31,  39,  42,  45, 
49,  55,  59,  65,  72,  76,  77,  78,  82,  90, 


INDEX. 


489 


123,  129,  131,  132,  187,  208,  210, 
213,  307,  420,  421,  422,  42'J,  457, 
458,  401,  403. 

Corey  Place,  306. 
Corson,  Frederick  l^,  230. 
Cornwall,  George  E.,  275,  270. 
Cottage  Street,  47,  54,  55,  81,  118, 
413. 

Count  Rumford,  209. 
County    Commissioners,    308,    309, 
310,  311,  312,  450,  451,  477. 

Cox,  Caroline  M.,  152;  Charles  M. 
252,  414,  419;  George  P.,  290; 
Herbert  M.,  340;  James  P.,  239; 
Lemuel.  23,  478,  480;  Unite,  51, 
211,  212,  213,  214. 

Covtmore,    Martha,   29 ;    Thomas, 

13.  19,  29,  41,  81,  91,  92. 
Coytmore  Mill,  the,  70,  81. 
Cowhey,  Thomas,  231. 
Craddock,  Matthew,  11,  77. 
Crafts,  Sarah  G.,  77. 
Cragin,  Edwin  L.,  286. 
Cramton,  Samuel,  1. 
Crane,  James,  206. 
Crocker,  John,  169,  449;  John.  H., 

227,  239;   Joseph  C,  171,  239. 

Crockett,  Albert  W.,  239;    George 

F.,  239. 
Crolly,  John  C,  403. 
Cromwell,  Oliver,  91. 
Crooker,  Patty,  77. 
Crosby,  Anthony,  169,  221,  230. 
Crosett,   Elizabeth   D.,   144;  James 

L.,  143,  144. 
Crowley,  Jeremiah,  230. 
Crystal  Lake  [Smith's  Pond],  16. 
Crystal  Lake  Boat  Club,  31. 
Cud  worth,  Rev.  Warren  H.,  177. 
Culver,  Rev.  David,  139. 
Curfew  Bell,  454-456. 
Curtis,  Don  E.,    151,    1.52,  153,  272, 

276,  340;  George  William,  81, 
359;  James  O.,  290. 

Currier,  A.  C.  Marie,  341 ;  James  C, 

277,  280,  281,  283,  289,  347,  389; 
John  H.,  239;  John  K.,  281. 

Cushman,  Thomas  L.,  362. 
Cutler,  Rev.  Julian  vS.,  172,  451. 
Cutter,  Ephraim,  303,  3()2. 
Cutting,  William  II.,  239. 
Cuttyhunk,  Mass.,  2. 


Daggett,  Sara,  440. 

Dame,  Frank  ().,  2.30. 

Damon,  Frank  II.,  272. 

Dana,  Charles,   167;  Stephen,  2H. 

Danforth,  Thomas,  12,  429. 

Daniels.  Charles  H.,  151;  J.  B.,  231. 

Dan  vers  Insane  Asylum,  24,  326. 

Dark  Day,  85. 

Dark  Hollow  Pond,  28,  35,  325. 

Daughters  of  the  Revolution,  441  ; 
of  the  American  Revolution,  439. 

Davidson,  John,  07  ;  David  G.,  386. 

Davis,  Rev.  B.  H.,  170;  Rev.  Charles 
E.,   140;   Edmun.l  W.,    226,   239 
George  L.,   180;  James    L.,    239 
Jefferson,     217;    John     E.,     239 
Loammi  G.,  239;  William  T.,  13, 

Dawes,  Ambrose,  2.39. 

Day,  Albert  A.,  262;  Benjamin  B., 
109;  Joseph  M.,  233;  Sarah  A., 
272,  276. 

Days  of  old,  464-467. 

Day  Street,  122,  165. 

Dayton,  Ohio,  378. 

Dean,  Charles  L.,  312,  416,  420. 

Dearborn,  Bessie  B.,  272,  275;  George 
H.,  180,  193,  194,  289,  358-300; 
Samuel  O.,  223,  231,  282,  285,  289, 
308,  407. 

Dedham,  Mass.,  207. 

Deere,  Rev.  George  H.,  170. 

Deering,  Elizabeth  H.,  253  ;  John 
P.,  262,  269,  281,  301,  319,  329,  332, 
390,  403, 410. 

Degen,  Rev.  H.  V.,  139. 

Delaware  Bay,  4. 

Dell  Avenue,  122,  162,  181,  182,  246. 

DeLong,  Rev.  Henry  C,  177,  17*. 

Dennis,  George  M.,  323,  460;  Rev. 
Joseph  S.,  170. 

Deshon,  Francis,  239. 

Dew,  George  W.,  451. 

Dewey,  George,  365,  436. 

DeWolfe,  Louisa  M.,  175  ;  1'.  Mor- 
ton,   175. 

Dexter,  Rev.  Ileiirv  M.,  4  ;  John, 
15,  206,  210;  Richard,  41,  43; 
William,  124. 

Dexter's  Rocks,  51,  52. 

Dike,  John,  195. 

Dill,  Jesse  A..  193,  415,  451. 

Dillingham,  James  B.,  418. 

Divver,  Neil  A.,  274,  275,  348,  349. 


490 


INDEX. 


Dix,    William,   121,   161,    191,    328; 

John,  133;  Joseph  O.,  239;  Mary 

E.,  348,  394. 
Dix  Pond,  31,  51,  121,  265,  320,  389. 
Dodge,  J.    Wesley,    25;  James  W., 

226. 
Doherty,  John,31,48,  78,  180;  Wil- 
liam H.,  392. 
Dole,    William    A.,    475  ;   William 

H.,  273,  275,  316,  317. 
Doleful  Pond,  28,  35,  91,  315,  322, 

325. 
Domesday  Book,  108. 
Donalavy,  William,  226,  228. 
Dore,  Rev.  John  P.,  181. 
Dorchester,  Mass.,  8,  80. 
Dorchester,  Daniel,  369. 
Dorrell,  John,  5. 
Double,  Edmund  B.,  239. 
Dow,    Alice    B.,    341  ;   D.    Webster, 

319,  360  ;  Ivewis  E.,  382  ;  Richard 

E.,  365,423. 
Downing,  Albert,  416. 
Drake,  Grant,  362;  Samuel  Adams, 

11,  256,  358,  360,  369,  458. 
Drayton,  J.  Spencer,  239. 
Drown,  Frank  B.,  418  ;  Osborne  E., 

392  ;  Walter  E.,  418. 
Duck  Pen,  the,  147,  160. 
Dudley,  Thomas,  78. 
Dummer,  William,  15. 
Dunham,  Jacob,  277. 
Dunnell,  Thomas,  131. 
Duntou,  Aubrey  W.,  386,  403. 
Durant,  Augustus,  155,  449. 
Durham,  Maine,  372. 
Durrell,  O.  H.,  252. 
Duxbury,  Mass  ,  369,  372. 
Dyer,    Benjamin    F.,     128;    David, 

293  ;  Jabez  S.,  363,  403  ;   N.  Mayo, 

239,  248-250,  252,  415,  436,  441. 
Dyer  Dam  Case,  307,  309,  310. 

Earl,  William  H.,  239. 
Earthquakes,  98. 
Eastburn,  Rt.  Rev.  Mauton,  173. 
Eastman's  Block,  120,  434. 

Eastman,  Moses,  169;  M.  Frank 
171,  274,  284,  451;  Hall,  167 
Mary  E.,  404;  Susan  E.,  404 
William  H.,  239,  260. 

East  Side,  19,  36,  74,  101. 

East  Side  Mission,  142. 

East  Street,  134,  142,  406. 


Easton,  Rev.  D.  C,  164. 

Eaton,  Charles  W.,  276  ;  John,  40  ; 

Lilley,  14;  Nathan,  211,  212,  213, 

214;  Rebecca  Lynde,  66,  475. 
Eddy,  Rev.  Richard,  171,   172,  178, 

256,  369,  452. 
Edgell,  Benjamin,  213. 
Edgerly,    Obadiah  S.,    230;    Peter, 

230. 

Edgeworth  [Maiden],  67. 
Edmands,  Bradford,  227. 
Edmonds,  Charles  H.,  281,  282,  283. 
Edmunds,  John,  31,  32,  48,  49,  87, 

111,  212,  258,  460  .  Lillian  D.,  405. 
Edwards,  Charles  W.,  391  ;  Frank 

M.,  347;  Joseph,  273,  283,  409. 
Eleventh  Street,  194. 
Eliot,  George  W.,  239  ;  John,  33. 
Elizabeth  Island,  2. 
Ellis,   Jacob  M.,  239,  455;   Martin, 

169,   231  ;    P.    Russell,  230  ;  Rev. 

Rufus,   177  ;  Walter  B.,  390,  475  ; 

W.  Irving,  175,  192,  193,  289,  294, 

296,  329,  360,  454. 
Ellison,      Charles     W.,     404,     451  ; 

Samuel,  419. 
Ellms,  Frederick  A.,   160. 
Ell  Pond,  16,  19,  20,  29,  30,  31,  33, 

38,  41,  42,  44,  53,  79,  81,  82,  84,  91, 

92,  118,  119,  120,  137,  296,  307,  308, 

312,  321,  323,  385,  400,  409,  423. 

Ell  Pond  Brook,  35,  53,  120,  191, 
475. 

Ellsworth  Avenue,  125. 

Elm  Street,  323,  460. 

Ely,  Justin,  133. 

Emerson,  Carl  S.,  418;  George,  23, 
107,  139,  221,  222,  230,  232,  266, 
277,  280,  282,  285,  329, 349, 359,  360, 
366,  409,  411,  478,  480;  George 
W.,  221,  223,  226;  Isaac,  23,  120, 
134,  139,  141,  221,  222,  223,  227, 
229,  230,  264,  265,  266,  277,  280, 
282,  284,  285,  289,  328,  478,  480  ; 
James  G.,  200,  239,  390,  419;  James 
W.,  239,  391  ;  Rev.  Joseph,  64, 
124,  188,  466  ;  Joseph  S.,  227,  239  ; 
Mary,  123,  124;  R.  Watson,  139, 
221,  223,  230  ;  Walter,  366  ;  Rev. 
Warren,  51,  133;  William,  51,  54, 
132,  133,  134,  189,  258. 

Emerson  Street,  54,  81,  114,  134, 
173,  177,  192,  194,  323,  336,  352, 
353,  410,  434,  441,  475. 

Emery,  Rev.  John  N.,  170,  171  ;" 
Joshua,  227  ;  Stephen,  329  ;  Wash- 
burn, 450. 


INDEX. 


491 


Endicott,  John,  5,  77. 

Eriksen,  Lief,  3. 

Essex  County,  28,  32G. 

Essex  Street,  54,  55,  81,  120,  121. 
139,  143,  151,  1G9,  171,  173,  176, 
303,  306,  336,  347.  383,  385,  388, 
394,  397,  4)4,  400,  431,  434. 

Estabrook,  Rev.  R.  D.,  139. 

Esty,  Charles  F.,  219,  277. 

Evans,  E.  P.,  282  ;  Henry,  19  ;  John, 
15;  Nathaniel,  15;  Samuel,  15; 
Thomas  C,  221,  239. 

Evanston,  111.,  376. 

Everett  [South  Maiden],  Mass., 
9,  10,  11,  25,  45,  99,  143,  183,  208, 
296,  297,  301,  407,  416,  417,  420, 
441. 

Everett,  Edward,  218:  Fred  E., 
272,  275,  276,  313,  315. 

Fairbairn,  John  A.,  416. 

Fairbanks,  David,  169,  172,221,233, 
282,  283,  284,  346;  Rev.  George  W., 
139;  Joseph  A.,  226,  230;  John 
W.,  221,  222. 

Fall,  George  H.,  120. 

Faneuil  Hall,  217,  440. 

Fargo,  Charles  O.,  240. 

Farley,  F.  A..  192. 

Farnsworth,  George  W.,  143,  228, 
282;  William  J.,  21,  22,  161,264, 
265,  280,  281,  282,  285,  308. 

Farragut,  David  G.,  248,  249. 

Farrar,  Geraldine,  365,  366 ;  Sidney 
D.,  281,  365. 

Farrell,  Michael,  240. 

Farwell,  John  W..  65,  193,  194,  257, 
269,  287,  289,  293,  295,  298,  318, 
319,  341,  358,  360,  388,  389,  397, 
402,  403;  Ruby  F.,  274,  275,  341, 
342,  348,  349. 

Farwell  Street,  166. 

Faulkner  Place,  121. 

Fawcett,  Winthrop  S.,  160. 

Fay,  Charles  E.,  326. 

Feake,  Robert,  12. 

Fells,  the,  164,  193,  405. 

Fells  Baptist  Church,  193  ;  History 
of,  163,  164. 

Felt,  George,  43. 

Ferdinand,  Jasper  F.,  232. 

Fernald,  B.  Marvin,  26,  195,  288, 
289,  298,  341,  417;  Clarence  T., 
272,  276,  303,  313,  315  ;  Grace,  342. 

Ferry  Street,  Maiden,  400. 


Field,  Charles,  M.,  451. 
Fielding,  Thomas  C,  399,  400. 
Fields,  Henry  G.,  121,  281,  310,  409, 

451,  475. 
Fiftieth  Anniversary,  415,  416. 
Finnegan,    Dennis,    231  ;    Edward, 

227;   William,  231. 

Fire  Department:  Central  Fire  Sta- 
tion, :J91,  392,  409  ;  Gamewell  Fire 
Alarm  System,  390;  Grundy  Hose 
Co.,  390;  Highlands  Hose  Co., 
392  ;  Hose  Co.,  No.  1,  392  ;  Liberty 
Bigelow  Hook  &  Ladder  Co.,  391, 
392;  N.  D.  Blake  Hose  Co..  390, 
392;  Old  Endeavor  No.  3,  388, 
389,  418,  422,  479;  William  E. 
Barrett  Hose  Co.,  392  ;  Wyoming 
Hose  Co.,  390. 

First  Street,  115,  194. 

Fish,  Stephen,  40. 

Fisher,  George  W.,  231,  240. 

Fiske,  C.  Andrews,  418  ;  John,  3; 
Mary  T.,  174;  Rev.  Serene,  138; 
Wilbur  D.,  278,  295,  418. 

Fitzpatrick,   Rev.  William  H.,  181. 

Flagg,  John,  31  ;    Rev.  Joshua,  108. 

Flanders,  Susan  F.,  272  ;  William 
H.,  163,  252,  338,  340. 

Fletcher.  George  M.,  220,  222,  228, 
230,  280,  282,  284. 

Flint,  Frances  A.,  174;  George,  40; 

Mason    M.,  283;   Rufus   H.,  280, 

282. 
Florence  Street,  82. 
Floyd,  John,  94;  Joseph,  20,  51,  52. 
Folger,    Arthur   H.,    272,   274,  270, 

313. 
Folsom,  William  N.,  268,  276,  :505, 

318,  319,  413,  450. 
Fordell  Park,  28. 
Foresters  of  America,  444. 
Forest   Street,  Maiden,  45,  47,  49, 

51,  52,  54,  59,  63. 
For sy the,  George  R.,  230. 
Fort  Independence,  220. 
Fort  Norunibega,  3. 
Fortress  Munroe,  218. 
"  Forty-niners,"  4.56. 
Foss,  James  T.,  240. 
Foster,  Daniel  W.,  230;   Frank  W., 

272,  275,  313  ;  Rev.  Randolph  S., 

141;  Verdi  C,   418;   William,  84. 

Foster  Street.  47.  54,  55.  74,  81,  82, 


492 


INDEX. 


83,  84,  87,  105,  106,  117,  118,  120, 
144,  147,  192,  212,  318,  323,  328, 
341,  344,  388,  392,  404,  413,  435. 

Fountain,  Francis,  231. 

Fountainville,  460. 

Fowler,  Charles  N.,  414,  419. 

Francis,  J.  S.,  258. 

Franklin,  Albert  B.,  151-156,  192, 
194,    273,    275,  276,  336-340,  352. 

Franklin    Fraternity,  346,  349,  355, 

.    356. 

Franklin  Hall,  171. 

Franklin  Square,  406. 

Franklin  Street,  28,  33,  36,  47,  91, 
92,  93,  94,  95,  97,  122,  125,  126,  127, 
129,  156,  157,  164,  165,  166,  187, 
192,  193,  261,  303,  392,  405. 

Fraternal  Societies,  443-5. 

Frederick,  Charles  W.  H.,  276. 

Free  Baptist  Church,  First,  History 
of,  166-168;  Affiliated  Societies, 
168. 

Freeman,  Leander  T.,  226  ;  Thom- 
as, 231. 

Freemasonry,  431-434. 

French,  Alfred  H.,  418;  Charles 
E.,  125,  272,  275,  276,  437. 

French,  English  and  Indian  War, 
85,  98,  206. 

Friend,  Victor  A.,  414,  416,  449. 

Frost,  Rev.  Leonard,  138;  Oscar 
F.,  262,  269,  329,  412,  414,  416, 
423,  451. 

Frothinghani,  Richard,  77,  79,  80. 

Fry,  James,  B.,  225. 

Fuller,  Albert  H.,  418;  George  A. 
124;  George  E.,  392;  George  P, 
240,  450,  475;  Henry  F.,  240 
Lorin  L.,  169,  289;  Virgil  W. 
262;  William  A.,  227,  228,  240 
William  E.,  228,  280,  282,  481. 

Furnas,  H.,  336. 

Furneaux,  Charles,  230. 

Gage,  Sarah  E.,73. 

Gallagher,  Richard,  240. 

Gardner,  Elbridge,  222,  230,  280; 
H,.  124. 

Garfield,  James  Abram,  452. 
Garrison,  William  Lloyd,  359,  379. 
Gately,  George  T.,  347  ;  John,  232. 
General    Court,  Acts  of,   41-43,  47, 

62,  82-84,  91,  107-llC,  289. 
Genu,  Edith  S.,  357. 
George,  Rev.  Nathan  D.,  139. 


Georgetown,  Mass.,  165. 

Gerry,  Robert,  32,  190,  202;  auto- 
graph, 191. 

Geyer,  Julius,  418. 

Gibbons,  Robert,  392;  Rosa  M., 
348. 

Gibson,  Daniel  E.,  276,  423. 
Gihon,  Edward  J.,  252. 

Gilbert,  Humphrey,  3  ;  Rev.  Sel- 
den,  170. 

Gilchrist,  George  E.,  272,  338. 
Gilman,  G.  W.,   231;  Levi  W.,  167. 
Gilmore,  Patrick  S.,  361,  366;  Wil- 
liam M.,  231. 

Glazier,  Harlan  E.,  180. 

Gleasou,  Rev.  Thomas,  181. 

Glen  Street,  74. 

Glover,  George  H.,  365,  423  ;  John, 
133. 

Glynn,  Rev.  Francis  J.,  181,  183, 
195,  429. 

Gooch,  Daniel  W.,  36,  73,  192,  230, 
235,  256,  257,  261,  277,  289,  290, 
318,  349,  370,  407,  411,  412,  413, 
452;  member  of  Congress,  288; 
naval  officer,  288  ;  pension  agent, 
288;  Hannah  P.,  349;  William 
W.,  349. 

Gooch  Street,  115. 
Good  now,  Helen,  200. 
Goodwin,  Joseph,  226,  228. 
Goodyear  Avenue,  61,  164,  349,  405, 
465. 

Gordon,  Charles  P.,  173;  Curtis  S., 
226  ;  William  F.,  226. 

Gorges,  Ferdiuando,  4 ;  Robert, 
4,  6. 

Gosuold,  Bartholomew,  2,  4. 

Goss,  Allen  C,  55,  224,  230,  360,  413, 
451;  Charles  B.,  451;  Curtis  C, 
151,  152,  153,  194,  195,  269,  272, 
295,  299,  313,  411;  Dr.,  88,  89; 
Elbridge  H.,  148, 151,  152,  153,  221, 
226,  230,  257,  260,  262,  270,  273, 
274,  275,  285,  289,  294,  299,  336, 
347,  348,  349,  353,  354,  358,  359, 
360,  381,  382,  399,  400,  402,  416, 
417,  420,  423,  439,  440,  449,  451, 
462;  Frank  M.,  434;  Fred  M., 
434;  Willis  C,  320,  417. 

Goudey,  William  E.  C,  354. 

Gould,  Albert  A.,  231,  475  ;  Daniel, 
16;  David,  34;  Edwin  C,  143, 
255,  257,  273,  275,  276,  286,  330, 
383,  424 ;  Jacob,  34  ;  John,  105, 
211,  212,  213;   Levi,   143,   144,  150, 


INDEX. 


498 


152,  191,  389;  Levi  S  ,  66.  79,  91, 
143,  190,  223,  229,  230,  2r)G,  2.J7, 
267-26!),  272,  273,  275,  278-281, 
285,  289,  294,  301.  304.  308,  309, 
311-314,  319,  331,  332,  348,  354,  381, 

389,  397,  400,  403,  408,  413,  415- 
417,  420,  422,  423,  432;  county 
commissioner,  289. 

Gow,  Rev.  John  R.,  163. 
Grand  Army  of  the  Repuhlic,  254; 
Hall,  257,  261. 

Grant,  Frederick  D.,  255  ;  Ulysses 

S.,  254,  255,256,  452. 
Graves,  Thomas,  6,  7. 

Gray,  Henry  C,  385;  George  M., 
403. 

Great  Fire  Nov.  30,  1875,  139. 

Great  Rebellion  of  1861-65,  see 
Civil  War. 

Green  [Greene],  Aaron,  21,  22,  23, 
75,  94,  97,  106,  168,  232,  264,  265, 
277,  282,  284,  285,  331,  479,  481; 
Abigail,  94  ;  Augustus,  240  ;  Ben- 
jamin F.,  230;  Bernard,  124,  189, 
458,  459,  463;  B.  Franklin,  169; 
Rev.  Bowley,  165  ;  Daniel,  96, 
216,  475;  Darius,  206;  David,  15, 
117;  Elbridge,  22,  97,  169,  231, 
264,  265,  277,  282,  283,  291,  309, 
329  ;  Elizabeth,  91,  95  ;  Ezra,  430, 
458 ;  Hannah,  95,  122  ;  Harry, 
418 ;  Henry,  18,  93,  94,  96,  185  ; 
Isaac,  15,  94,  95,  105,  106  ;  Jabez, 
98;  Jacob,  96;  Rev.  J.  B.,  177; 
James,  51,  62,  136;  James  S.  H., 
483  ;  Jesse  483;  John,  15,  17,  18, 
20,  47,  70,  77,  92-94,  96,  98, 
124,  187,  207;  John  H.,  169; 
Jonas,  15,  32,  94  ;  Joseph,  16,  95, 
126  ;  Joseph  H.,  169,  230,  338; 
Jonathan,  16,  95,  97,  98,  216,  483  ; 
Joshua,  483  ;  Josiah,  95  ;  L,anman, 

390.  Levi  W.,  97;  Martin,  240; 
Mary,  96,  106,  122  ;  Peter,  97, 
483;  Rebecca,  95;  Reuben,  97: 
vSamuel,  15,  20,  32,  93,  94,  98,  136  ; 
Sarah,  94,  95 ;  Susanna,  95  ; 
Thomas,  15,  91,  92,  93,  94,  95,  96, 
97,  187,  207;  William,  14,  15,  70, 
93,  94,  96,  187,  206. 

Greenfield,  Mass.,  89. 

Greenland,  3. 

Greenland,   John,    18,    43,    51,    101, 

184. 
Green   Street,    16,    36,    44,    55,    134, 

138,  160,  166,  191,  201.    323,    388, 

405,  406, 430,  451,  459.  460. 
Greenwood  [Wakefield],  Mass.,  15, 

16,  28,  36,  41,  54,  91,  98,    129,  303. 


Greenwood  Street,  126,  303. 

Griswold,  Rev.  Francis  A.,  139. 

Groton,  Mass.,  131. 

Grouard,  George  W.,  439. 

Grout,   Francis  J.,    152  ;   Henry   F 
176. 

Grove  Street,   19,  47,  54,  55,  73,  143, 
181,  188,  193,  264,  303,  318,  406. 

Grover,  Andrew  J.,  240;  John,  31, 
73,    211-214;  George  W.,  65,  227 
240,390;  John    C,  240;  vSamuel, 
48,  73,  215;  Stephen,  60;  Thomas, 
60  ;  Simon,   60,  101  ;  William  W. 
240. 

Grundy,    Edward   L.,  390;  Joseiili 
390. 

Guiteau,  Charles  J.,  452. 

Hackett,  Rev.  William  W.,  163,  164. 

Hadley,  Mass.,  108. 

Hale,    Rev.    Edward     Everett,    32; 

Robert.  29,  42,  92. 
Haley,  Reuben  T.,  232. 
Hall,  Benjamin,  459. 
Hallett,  Samuel  C,  451. 
Hamlin,  Hannibal,  417,  448. 
Hammond,  George,  227,  240. 
Hauaford,    Rev.   Jeremiah    L  ,  140, 

141,  451. 

Hancock,  John,  459,  462. 
Hanley,  Michael  J.,  392. 
Hanson,  Rev.  John  W.,  218. 
Harding,  Elvin  W.,  362. 
Hare,  Andrew,  240. 
Harlow,  Corydon  W.,  316. 

Harnden,    Ebenezer,   48,    104,    208, 
216;  John,  216;   Richard,  40. 

Harrington,  Samuel,  358. 

Harris,    Gilbert   N.,   255,  283,  286; 

Samuel,   152. 
Harrison,  William  H.,  418. 
Harrold,  Susan  P.,  152. 
Hart,    Abner    B.,    240;     Asa.    258; 

George,    230,    343,    402;    Thomas 

N.,  200. 
Hart's  Hill,  322. 
Hartwell,     Richardson     &     Driver, 

153,  154,  338. 

Harvard    University,    177, 
Harvej-,  Franklin,  240. 
Haskell,  Andrew  W.,  344. 
Hastings,  William  A.,  416, 


494 


INDEX. 


Hatch,   Fred    L.,    414;  Naylor,  86, 

90,  213,  214,  215  ;     Rev.  William 

H.,  139. 
Hatfield,  Rev.  Byron  U.,  165. 
Haven,    Rev.   E.  O.,   139;  Gilbert, 

23,  266,  478,  480  ;   Harry  E.,  418. 
Haverhill,  Mass.,  42,  375,  378. 
Hawkes,  Cynthia  H.,  120. 
Hawkins,  Thomas,  228. 
Hay,  Peter,  16. 
Hayes,  Benjamin  P.,  290;   EHhn  B., 

253. 
Haynes,  Joseph  W.,  240. 
Hayward,   Rev.  C,  139;   Jabez  G., 

231  ;  John,  56,  57  ;    Paul,  160. 
Haywardville    Rubber    Co.,     [Red 

Mills]  294. 
Heald,  S.  W.,  230. 
Heath,    George   W.,    221,  232,  235, 

290,  394;  William,  461. 
Heaton,  Louis  B.,  392,  418. 
Hellen,  Samuel  H.,  341. 
Hemenway,   Francis,   134;  George, 

231. 
Hemlock  Pond,  326. 
Heuderson,  Albert    F.,    340;   John 

H.  B.,  227,    236. 
Henry  Avenue,  306. 
Herbert  Street,  162,  181,  191. 
Herdmau,  Rev.  James  C,  176. 
Herrick,  Horatio  G.,  225,  226,  228  ; 

his  quota  letter,  234. 
Herring  House,  32,  48,  131. 
Hesseltine,    Francis    S.,    194,    200, 

256,    258,  268.  27S,   301,  311,    320, 

394,  412;  Norman  F.,  310. 
Hetou,  John,  240. 
Heywood,  Rev.  John  H.,   178,  359, 

371. 

Hicks,  Richard,  160. 

Higgins,  A.  E.,  157;  Charles  W., 
194,  281,  301,  319;  John  S.,  230, 
235. 

Higginson,  Rev.  Francis,  6,  77. 

High,  Rev.  William  C,  139. 

Highland  Avenue,  92,  125,  126. 

Highland  Chapel,  156. 

Highland  Club,  166,  180,  436. 

Highlands  Baptist  Church,  History 
of,  164-166,  261  ;  affiliated  socie- 
ties, 165. 

Highlands  Congregational  Church, 
33,  91,  423,  442;  History  of,  155- 
160;  its  affiliated  societies,  159; 
twenty-fifth  anniversary,  160. 


Highland  Pond,  33,  158. 

Highland  Street,  110. 

High  Rock,  see  West  Hill. 

Highway  Surveyors,  475. 

Hill,  Aaron,  272,  275,  276,  3.52,  423; 

Abraham,  429;  Charles,  266,  463; 

Isaac,    17,    51,  52;  John  T.,    168; 

Tamzen,  110. 
Hills,  J.  Clifford,  418;    James  W., 

418  ;  Joseph,  13,  14,  19,  41,  42,  43, 

132,  418;   Mary,  132. 

Hill's  Tavern,  210, 

Hinckley,  L.  Frank,  53,  82,  84,  267, 

276,  281,    283,  302,  303,  304,  305, 
410,  411,  414,  416,  418,  451. 

Hinds,  John  J.,  392  ;  Rev.  Orlando, 
138. 

Hingham,  Mass.,  80. 

Hocking,  Alfred,  257,  258,  262,  288, 
404. 

Hodges,  Charles  C,  338. 

Hog  Island,  52. 

Holbrook,  Joseph,  228,  282,  308; 
Joseph  M.,  392. 

Holden,  Clarence  P.,  273,  316. 

Holland,  Rev.  F.  W.,  176;  Josiah  G., 
359. 

Hollis,  Henry  P.,  240. 

Holmes,  Albert  D.,  182,  257;  Edwin 
P.,  257;  Oliver  Wendell,  217; 
Philip  B.,  223,  235,  278,  285,  448. 

Home  Association  Lands,    74,  318. 

Hood,  Wendell  P.,  24. 

Hopkins,  Lucretia  A.,  439. 

Horner,  Rev.  Thomas  J.,   180,  415, 

416. 
Horn  Pond,  8,  30. 
Horsford,  Eben,  3. 
Houdlette,  Fred  A.,  160. 
Houghton,  Mary  C,  342  ;    Samuel 

S.,  230. 
Hovey,  James,  16. 

Howard,  Amos,  120,  121;  Atalanta 
120;  Avery,  B.,  240;  Benjamin 
120  ;   Caleb,  161,  163,  231, 264, 265 

277,  284;  Cynthia,  120;  Ezra,  120 

121,  184,  211,  212,  213;  George 
161;  Rev.  George  N.,  166,  167 
James,  120,  264;  James  R.,  240 
Jonathan,  30,  52,  53,  54,  119,  120 

122,  216;  Joseph,  122,  136;  Lu 
cinda,  144;  Madeline  S.,  161 
Mary,  119  ;  Nathaniel,  54,  65,  120 
232,  329;  vSamuel,  15,  30,  US,  119 
W.  Truman,  409. 


INDEX. 


495 


Howard  Street,  19,  54,  91,  95,  128, 
134,  151, 323,  405,  430,  438, 439, 459. 

Howe,  F.  Edward,  240,  2(50  ;  Fran- 
cis D.,  1(39;  John,  88;  Jonathan, 
88;  Sarah  D.,  200;  Sidney  302;  W. 
B.,  380 

Howes,  Jonathan  C,  220,  267,  272, 
276,  281,  284,  298,  410,  418,  451; 
Solomon  L.,  231. 

Howie  Court.  93. 

Howie,  Daniel,  H.,  419. 

Howlett's  Pond  and  Brook,  322. 

Hoyt,  A.  J.,  386. 

Hudson,  Jarvis  P.,  228,  230. 

Hudson  River,  463. 

Humanitarian  Chapel,  165. 

Humphrey,  John,  12. 

Humphrey's  Pond,  31. 

Hunt,  Frank  J.,  138;  Frank  \V.,  194, 
196,  295,  341. 

Hunter,  W.  Dabuey.  273,  275,  302, 

303,  306,  315. 
Hurd,  Bert  A.,  419  ;  Elizabeth,  63  ; 

Jacob,  63;  Joseph  A.,  414,  419. 
Hurd  Street,  47,  54,  55, 128,  405,  410. 
Hurley,  John,  231. 
Hutchinson,  Thomas,  6. 
Huxford,  C.  M.,  166. 
Hyde,  George  S.,  240. 
Hyde  Park,  Mass.,  297. 

Improvement  Societies,  412—414, 
422. 

Incorporation,  Act  of,  477. 
Indian  Deed  of  Territory,  12. 
Indian   Tribes  :  Massachusetts,    9  ; 

Pawtucket,  9  ;  Reference  to,  9. 
Ingalls,     Rev.   John    C,    139,    191, 

236,  277  ;  Samuel,  240. 

I.  O.  of  G.  T.,  Guiding  Star  Lodge, 

235,  428. 
Ipsen,  Ludwig  S.,  422. 
Ireson,  Alonzo  D.,  240;   David    A., 

240  ;   Rev.  Ebenezer,  139  ;  George 

H.,  132. 

Irish      National      Foresters,     444  ; 

Sarah    Curran    Branch,    444. 
Isburgh,   Charles   H.,  169,  172,  192, 

221,    227,    228,  230,  257,  359;  Ida 

F.,  341. 

Island  End  River,  9. 

Island  Hill,  52,  54,  63.  72,  406. 

Jack,  Ernest  S.,  316. 


Jackson,  Clarissa,  161  ;  Jacob  F., 
240;  Michael,  49;  Rev.  Samuel, 
140,  141  ;  William  II.,  241  ;  Wil- 
liam  P.,  241. 

James  River,  221. 

Jameson,  Rev.  Thorndike  C,  101, 
163. 

Jefferson,  Daniel,  230. 

Jeffrey,  William,  5. 

Jenkins,  Ezekiel,  52,  185,  186;  Joel, 

60;  Lemuel,  17,  51,  185;  Osmore, 

232;    Samuel,   52;  Nathaniel  188, 

autograph,  189. 
Jeunison,  Rev.  Isaac,  138. 
Jepson,  William  A.,  163,  339,  ;340. 
Jewell,  Rev.  Henry,  168. 
Johns  Hopkins  University,  37. 
Johnson,   Edward,    13,  376;    Henry 

E.,    451;     Oliver,    379;    William, 

18,  41,  70. 

Jones,  Asa  H.,  231 ;  Benjamin  F., 
169;  Caroline,  161;  Charles  S., 
241  ;  Edward  A.,  382  ;  George  R., 
152,  1.53,  195,  268,  272,  273,  288, 
289,  298,  305,  315,  32i,  341,  353, 
397,  402,  417,  4.50;  Henry  A., 
166;  Henry  H.,  241;  John  R., 
282-284,  295;  J.  Wesley,  241,  448; 
Nathaniel  P.,  116,  257,  318,  319, 
412,  413;  W.  DeHaven,  142,273, 
275,  276,  284,  288,  340,  354,  360, 
475  ;  William  T.,  360. 

Josselyn,  Rev.  Aaron,  138. 

Judkins,  Edwin  W.,  241  ;  Roland 
C,  241. 

Kastner,  Charles,  235. 

Keays,  William  W.,  360. 

Keating,  John  J.,  423. 

Keene,  N.  H.,  115;  W.  S..  416. 

Keith,  Charles  E.,  226,  231, 

Kellogg,    Ensign    H.,    478;    Frank 

G.,  150,  152,  153,  340. 
Kelly,  Mary  Upham,  108. 
Kendall,  Edward  W.,  241. 
Kershaw,  William  L.,  340. 
Kettle,  James,  75,  430. 
Keves,   Stephen   F.,    258,   281,  354, 

414,  417. 
Kidder,  Frederic,  177,  347,  348,  371  ; 

Jonathan,  86;  Mountain,  326. 
Kilbon,  Rev.  John  L.,  152. 
Kilby,   Rev.   Epaphras,    137  ;    The- 

ophilus,  241. 

Kilter,  John,  216. 


496 


INDEX. 


Kimball,   C.  M.,  258;  G.  A.  &  Co., 

385;  Thomas  J.,  169,  230. 
King,    George     L.,     241  ;     Rev.    T. 

Starr,  191. 
Kiug   Phillip's    War,    (50,    108,    131, 

200 ;  AVilliam's  206. 
Kinsale,  Irelaud,  88. 
Kirk,  Rev.  Edward  N.,  145. 
Kirmes,    Christopher,   231 ;    Victor 

C,  288,  341. 
Kitching,  Edward  J.,  361. 
Knights,     Edward    R.,     230,     283; 

Harry  W.,  403. 
Knights     of     Columbus,     444;     of 

Honor,   443;    of  Malta,    444;    of 

Pythias,  445. 

Knower,  George,  100. 
Knowles,  Theodore  L.,  221,  226. 
Knox,  Henry,  462. 
Krantz,    Frederick    W.,  241 ;    Wil- 
liam F  ,  241. 

Kunhardt,  Iv.  Henry,  262,  269,  329, 
414. 

Ivafayette,  Visit  of,  134,  440. 

Lake  Avenue,  36,  55,  81,  172,  192, 
303,  352. 

Lambert,  Edward,  86. 

Lamkin,  Guy,  163,  289,  336,  448. 

Lamson,  William  A.,  232. 

Lancaster,  Mass.,  104. 

Lane,    Addison,    161,  163,  231,  284, 

294,   450;   H.  M.,  192;  Job.  457. 
Lang,  Charles  H.,  195,  340,  360,403, 

408;   May  E.,  341. 
Langwood  Hotel,  33. 
Langworthy,     Rev.    Isaac    P.,    144, 

147. 

Laraviere,  Eugene,  418. 

Larrabee,  Charles,  230;  John,  51, 
106,  196,  200,  257,  258,  261,  263, 
268,  273-276,  283,  284,  288,  289, 
293,  299,  300,  302-306,  311,  314, 
329,  332,  338,  344,  351-354,  360, 
402,  403,  417,  420,  423,  424,  451, 
453;  John  S.,  257,  424. 

Larrabee  Street,  74,  318. 

Las  Casas,  William  B.  de,  321. 

Laurel  Street,  55,  74,  188,  318,  406. 

Lavender,  William  R.,  275,  276,  284. 

Lawrence,  Mass.,  226,  234,  246. 

Leavitt,  Rev.  Burke  F.,  148,  158- 
160,  460  ;  Roscoe  A.,  330;  Rufus, 
230. 


Lebanon  Street,  16,  31,  44,  47,  49, 
51,  52,  54,  55,  63,  73,  121,  134,  136, 
141,  142,  160,  168,  188,  189,  193, 
194,  200,  318,  331,  343,  406,  407, 
451,  475. 

Leeds,  Samuel,  241. 

Leicester,  Mass.,  374. 

Leighton,  Leonard  S.,  336-339; 
Robert  F.,  372;  Roval  B.,  336, 
340;  William  F.,  241.' 

Leisk,  John  A.,  418. 

Leonard,  Henry  A.,  230,  246,  273, 
283;  Rev.  Joel  M.,  140,  148;  Wil- 
liam A.,  340. 

Lester,  M.  W.,  339. 
Lever,  Richard,  241. 
Lewis,  Alonzo,  78;  Samuel,  60. 
Lewiston,  Maine,  167,  388. 
Lexington  alarm,  210-214,  419. 
Lexington,  Mass..  34,  72.  76,  86,  87, 
90,  129,  210,  212-214,  326,  459,  460. 

Libby,  Horatio  S.,  257,  424. 

Liberal  Christian  Union  Church, 
172,  180. 

Lincoln,    Abraham.     217-224,    227- 

229,  245,  373,  447,  448, 452 ;  George 
H.,  167. 

Lincoln  Street,  101. 
Linden  Place,  173 ;  Street,  55,  323. 
Linniken,  Benjamin,  282. 
Linwood  Avenue,  44,  55,  335,  410. 
Little,  Edmund  B.,  231. 

Littlefield,  Cushing  W.,  241;  Homer 
S.,  70  ;  James  D.,  169  ;  Walter,  73, 

230,  289,  318,  329,  412;  Walter  F., 
362. 

Livermore,  Daniel  P.,  349,  374; 
Mary  A.,  172,  178,  251-253,  256, 
349,  359,  360,  372,  420,  424,  439- 
441,  452,  453. 

Locke,  Calvin,  438;  Rev.  E.  H., 
168;  Simeon,  230. 

Lockrow,  Rev.  David  M.,  163,  165. 
Lockwood,  Thomas  D.,  163,  375. 
London,  1,  2,  8,  13,  93,  108,  371. 
Long  Poud,  18,  31,  32,  48-10,  131. 
Long,  Thomas  A.,  229,  230  ;  John  D. , 

262,  436;   Mrs.  J.  H.,  365. 
Loring,  Charles  F.,  289,  461  ;  Martin 

B.,  231. 
Lothrop,  Cummings  L.,  172. 
Louisburg,  Siege  of,  206. 
Louisburg  Square,  44. 


INDEX. 


491 


Louisville,   Ky.,  178,  '.\1\. 
Lovejoy,  Bertram  E.,  339,  340;  Louis 
E.,  195;    Mary  E.,  340;   Stephen 
A.,  15L  294,  403. 
Levering,  Lewis  H.,  416. 
Lowell,  Mass.,  165. 
Loyal  Legion  of  Massachusetts,  200. 
L    [Kll]    Pond,    16,    19,    20,    29-31, 
33,  •^^,  41,  42,  44,  50,  53,  78,  79,  81. 
82,  84,  91,92, 94, 118-120,  137, 296, 
;307,   308,    312,   321-323,    385,   400, 
409,  423. 
L  Pond  Brook,  35,  53,  120,  137,  191, 

307,  308,  311-313. 
Luce,   Alonzo   A.,  451;  Francis  P., 

142,  340. 
Lucey,  Daniel  J.,  353. 
Luddington,  William,  100. 
Lyall,  David  S.,  241. 
Lyceum    Hall,    143,    147,    162,    172, 
191,  221,  236,  264,  265,    291,    346, 
399,  404,  431. 
Lyman,  Henry  H.,  241. 
Lynch,  Peter  J.,  354. 
Lyude,    Alonzo   V.,   230,   295,    298; 
Amos   P.,    153,   475;    A.   Selwyn, 
450;  A.  Wilbur,  73,   110,  241,  274, 
275,  390,  392,  419,  475;  Benjamin, 
51,  72,  73,  211-213,  241  ;    Charles 
B.,  241  ;  Charles  P.,  231;  D.  Al- 
vin,  47,    63,  231,   266;   Elizabeth, 
63;    Frank    G.,    74;    Frank    W., 
418;  Hannah,  35,  348;   Henry,  47, 
51,  63,  71,  75,  207;    George,   169, 
231;    George  W.,  241  ;   Jabez,  62, 
74-77,    211-213;     James  O.,   232; 
John,    44,    52,     54,     61,     63,     65, 
71-75,  82,  83,  185,  188,  207;   Jona- 
than, 74  ;  Joseph,  17,  45,  51,  53,  61- 
66,   70-73,   75,   76,    105,    106,    120, 
122,    211-213,    331,    464,   465,  476; 
Learned, 455  ;  Leonard, 231 ;  Lou- 
ise, 73  ;  Mary,  73,  200 ;  Nathan,  66, 
211,  216,  465  ;  Rebecca,  59,  66,  475  ; 
Sherman,     241  ;      Stephen,     77  ; 
Thomas,  16,  29,  41-43,  45-47,  51, 
53     58-63,  70,  71,  74-76,  92,  418; 
Warren,  71,  72,  291 ;  William,  169; 
William  O.,  230. 
Lyndeboro  Mountains,  326. 
Lynde's  Point,  58. 
Lynde  Street,  44,   47,    51,  54,  117, 

191,  319,  323. 
Lynnfield,  Mass.,  14::!,  181. 
Lynn,  Mass.,  5,  9,  24,  54,  78,  95,  98, 

116,  122,  327,  406,  459,  466. 
Lynn  Water  Works,  24. 


Lynn    Woods    Reservation,  24.  321 . 
322,  327. 

MacCafferty,  Michael  A.,  223. 
MacDon.ild,  Angus,  154,  160,  242. 
Macev,  James,   241;  John   S.,   241  ; 

William  H.,  241. 
Macfarland.    Rev.    Charles  S.,    142, 

336,  338,  339. 
Maclachlau,  Andrew  L.,  451. 
Macomber,  George,  230. 
Madison  Street,  Maiden.  45. 
Magoon,  Sylvanus,  228. 
Magus,  Pomp,  215. 
Mahoney,  John  J.,  476. 
Main    Street  [Reading   Road],    19, 
30,  31,  36,  44,  45,  47,  51.  52,  54,  55, 
60,  61,  63,  65,  69,   75,   84,  94,  97. 
114,    115,   120-122,    125,   134,    137- 
139,    141,   143,    147,   151,    160,    162. 
164,    107,   172,    176,    181,    187,    191, 
194     195,   197,    207,    257,  264,  291, 
319    323,    328,   329,    331,    336-338, 
349,    386,    388,  389,  391,  392,  394, 
397, 402-407,  409,  410,  431 ,  432, 434 
435,  441,  450.  451,  465,  476 
Maine,  1,  3,  56,  134,  136,  442. 
Maine,  James  H.,  392. 
Maker,  John  C,   180,   192,  194,  196, 

200,  272. 
Maiden  River,  see  North  River. 
Maiden  Water  Reservoir,  67. 
Maiden,  Mass,  1,  4,  5,  9-26,  28,  30. 
31,  33,  35,39,  40-42,  44,  45,  47-49, 
51-57,  60,  63-05,  67,  70.  72,  73,  75- 
78   82   83,85-91,  93-104,    106,  108, 
lib.   111,    114,    120,    122-124,    178, 
180,   181,   188,   191,   193,   200,   206, 
211       213,     216,     246,     286,     290. 
29l'    293.    294-301,    307-315.   324- 
326    328,  367,   381,  385,   388,    389, 
400     401,   404-407,    416,   429,   430, 
433,   441,    457,   459,    462-464,   466, 
477I479;     Baptist    Church,     125; 
Beacon,  461  ;   Hi-Centennial  Cele- 
bration,   144,    2u8  ;    250th    Anni- 
versary. 417-422. 
Maiden  &  Melrose  Gas  Light  Co., 

407. 
Maiden's  Patriotism,  208-210. 
Maldon,  England,  14. 
Maloney,  Bartley,  275. 
Manila,  Battle  of,  250,  252,  436. 
Mauley,  Hattie  A.,  198, 
Manning,  George  A  ,  152,  340;  Mary 
S.,  144  ;  Warren  II.,  327. 


498 


INDEX. 


Mansfield,  George  A.,  192,  103,  230, 
281,  310,  402  ;   Rev.  J.  H.,  141. 

Maple  vStreet,  27,  82,  105,  106,  128, 
207,  410,  4(33. 

Maplewood,  Maiden,  52,  li2,  100, 
406. 

March,  Rev.  Daniel,  151. 

Marcy,  J    T.,  231. 

Marden,  Emma  Nichols,  236. 

Marsh,  Edward  B.,  272,  275  ;  George 
P.,  262,  419;   Herbert  A.,  288. 

Marshall,  Edwin  B.,  164;  James, 
241,  275,  475;  John,  210;  John  E., 
163,  257,  258,  262,  272,  275,  415, 
424;  Samuel,  241;  Thomas,  41,  44. 

Martha's  Vineyard,  2,  3. 

Martin,  Charles  H.,  241  ;  George  T., 
241;  Jeremiah.  84,  107.  230,  241, 
264,  265,  278,  280,  291,  294  ;  Walter 
C,  363;   William  H..  241. 

Mason,  William  W.,  160,  338,  340. 

Masonic  Hall,  47,  52,  53,  122,  134, 
181,  392,433,  450. 

Massachusetts  Bay,  1,  2  3;  grant 
of  1628,  4  ;  grant  to  Oldham  and 
Dorrell,  5;  charter  to  Governor 
and  Company  of,  5,  6,  8,  102,  123. 

Massachusetts  Colony,  law  of,  39. 

Massachusetts  Home  Missionary 
Society,  145,  157 

Massey,  Mrs.  John,  139. 
Mather,  Rev.  Cotton,  127,  376. 
Matthews,    Rev.    Marmaduke,    91  ; 

Robert  W.,  339. 
Maverick,  Samuel,  5,  10. 
May,  Samuel  J.,  379. 
McAllister,  Daniel  W.,  242  ;   George 

H.,  242. 
McCarthy,  William  C,  342. 
McCartney,  William,  148. 
McClellan,  George  B.,  221. 
McClure,  Rev.  Alexander  W.,  208, 

367. 

McCoubry,  Thomas,  409;  William 
J.,  134. 

McCullough,  John  J.,  269,  353. 
Mclutire,  John,  150,  398. 
Mclntyre,  James,  403  ;   James  W., 

385;  Joseph,  231. 
McKay,  Gurdou,  242. 
McKinley,    William,    246,    362-365, 

376,  404,  453. 

McKinuf)n,  Charles  E.,  392. 


McLaughlin,  Frank  M.,  242,  274, 
275,  392,  418;  George  W.,  242; 
Hiram,  242. 

McLean,  John  A.,  166. 

McLeish,  Rev.  John,  456. 

McMann,  Philip,  242,  390. 

McNish,  Wickham  C,  230. 

M'Coy,  George  M.,  163. 

Medford,  Mass.,  4,  5,  9,  10,  24,  28, 
33,  47,  56,  70,  143,  157,  180,  206, 
286,  290,  291,  293,  294,  297-301, 
307,  324,  325,  407,  416,  466,  476; 
Mystic  Church,  157. 

Mellen,  William  H.,  398,  418. 

Melrose,  incorporated,  23;  part  of 
Stoneham  annexed,  23;  votes  to 
become  a  city,  271  ;  act  of  in- 
corporation, 271  ;  charter,  269- 
271;  Abbey,  37,  38,  175,  181,  437; 
Academy,  147;  Athletic  Club,  434; 
Cadet  Band,  423  ;  Club,  121,  2r.O, 
361,  435  ;  Co-operative  Bank,  403  ; 
Hospital  Association,  120,  341- 
345;  Guild,  341,  342;  Sunday, 
342;  Nurse's  Home,  344;  Improve- 
ment Society,  397,  412,  413  ;  High- 
lands, 414;  Lyceum,  177,359-361; 
Musical  Associations,  361 ;  Bands, 
365;  Choral  Societies,  361-365, 
454  ;  Melrose  National  Bank,  338, 
403  ;  Newspapers  :  Enterprise, 
387  ;  Free  Press,  387  ;  Journal,  26, 
385;  Reporter,  386;  Pratt  Farm, 
333;  Public  Library,  36,  37,  65, 
70,  338  ;  history  of,  346-354  ;  ad- 
visory committee,  354,  355,  358, 
372,  383,  397;  Savings  Bank,  397, 
402,  416  ;  Shakespeare  Club,  356  ; 
Street,  55,  155,  303;  Woman's 
Club,  356  ;  Highlands  Club,  356  ; 
Melroser  Deutsche  Genossen- 
schaft,  439. 

Menawarmet  Club,  439 

Mendum,     Ernest    W.,     286,     414; 

Josiah  P.,  224,  230. 
Merrick,  Thomas  B.,  282. 
Merrill,    Rev.    Abraham    D.,    139; 

Frank    H,    258;    Greeley,    456; 

John  M.,  139;  Parker.  284,  294. 
Merrimack  River,  ^^,  70,  71. 
Merritt,    Rev.    Timothy,    136,    137, 

139. 
Merry  Mount,  5. 
Messenger,    Charles    A.,    123,    126, 

231,  403;   Frank  A.,  126,  221,  223, 

230,  412,  437  ;  Winthrop,  268. 
Metcalf,  Rev.  Henry  A.,  173;  L.  S., 

385 ;   Richard,  177. 


INDEX. 


4'J«J 


Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  First, 
115,  120.  143,  155,  IGO,  :;28,  888, 
389,  423  ;  subscription  lists,  130, 
137;  War  contribution,  230. 

Metropolitan  Park  SystL-ni,  24-20, 
321,  322,  324,  320;  Sewerage  Sys- 
tem, ;]01-;^03,  300,  314;  Water 
System,  28,  34,  290-292,  29()-298 ; 
Water  and  Sewerage  combined, 
299-301,313,  315,  324-;320. 

Mexico,  war  with,  21(). 

Middlesex  Countv,  23,  TO,  85,  87, 
91,  102,  308,  32'5,  477,  478,  481; 
Fells  Reservation,  24,  20,  28,  30, 
51,  07,  290,  321,  :J22  ;  history  of, 
324-327  ;   Fells  Springs  Co.,  290. 

Milford,  Mass.,  401. 

Miller,  Ida  Farr,  440;  William  11., 
295. 

Mills,  Rev.  A.  W.,  140. 

Military  affairs :  Boston  Artillery 
Company,  80;  Crown  Point  ex- 
pedition, 75,  Maiden  Company 
of  Foot,  00,  75,  82,  80,  93;  Mas- 
sachusetts Militia,  107 ;  Point 
Shirlej'  Expedition,  70. 

Milton,  Mass.,  25. 

Miner,  Rev.  Alonzo  A.,  109,  171. 

Mishawum  [Charlestown],  5,  77. 

Mitchell,  F.  C,  418;  George,  242; 
Thomas,  414;  William  H.,  451. 

Moderators,  277-280. 

Montgomery,  Ala.,  217. 

Moore,  Edward,  231;  Eugene  H., 
105,  209,  272,  274,  281,  298,  305, 
313,  315,  415 

Moorehouse,  S.  Woodbridge,  365. 

Moorelands,  the,  105. 

Morehouse,  Rev.  D.  Allen,  157,  423. 

Morris,  Minn.,  455. 

Morrison,  Charles  H.,  242  ;  Seth, 
242. 

Morrow,  Ebenezer,  200. 

Morse,  Andrew  J.,  235,  301  ;  Fred 
H.,  451;  George  J.,  242;  George 
L.,  151,  194.  257,  208.  289,  295, 
301,  304,  305,  341;  George  M., 
109;  Sydney  B.,  242;  William, 
227;  William  F.,  226,  230. 

Morss,  William,  275,  283. 

Morton,  Thomas,  5,  7;  Daniel  O., 
231;  Roland  R.,  419. 

Moseley,  Samuel,  200. 

Mountain  Avenue,  49. 

Mountain  Avenue,  Maiden,  307, 
309. 


Mountain    House,    i-'T,  51,    100,    107 

123,  410,  403. 
Mount  Ephraim,  68. 
Mount  Gregor,  N.  Y.,  255,  452. 
Mount  Hood,  20,  24,  20,  28. 
Mount  Joe  English,  320. 
Mount  Kearsarge,  32G. 
Mount  Monaduock,  25,  320. 
Mount  Pelee,  289. 

Mount       Prospect,      see      W'ayte's 
Mount. 

M^unt    Vernon    Place,   05;    Street, 
47,  55,  400,  450,  451. 

Mount  Wachusett,  25,  320. 

Mount  Zion,  29. 

Mower,  George  W.,  107. 

Mudge,  Rev.  James,  139;  John,  430. 

Munroe,     Dexter     F.,      180,     358; 

George  E.,  180,  348.  349;    Lewis 

S.,  164;  Oliver  B.,  276,  352  ;   Rev. 

William   H.,   172,  173,  330. 
Murray,  James  W.,    160.    273,    275, 

270,    284,    445;     Patrick    P.,    392; 

William  H.  H.,  177 
Murphy,  James  P.,  183;  Walter,  232. 
Muse,  James,  418. 
Mussey,  Benjamin  B.,  191. 
Munn,  Lawrence  K.,  231  ;  Thomas 

J., ^242,  257. 
Munyan,  Edward  M.,  275,  349. 
Mj'ers,  James  J.,  415,  441. 
Myrtle  Street,  54,  147,  177,  181,  182, 

193,  303,  3()(),  343,  344. 
Mystic     Church,      Medford,      157; 

Pond,  8,  30;   River,    1,  4-0.  9,  11, 

13,    33,    57,    77-79,    81,    87,    215, 

298,  325. 

Mystic   Side,    [Mvstic   Field,   Mai- 
den]  10,  13,    14,' 42,  57,  59,  00,  79, 

81,  91,  99,  101. 

Nahant,   Mass.,  3,   24,  98,  297,  359. 
Nanepasheniet,  4;  killed,  9, 
Nantaskct,  Mass.,  5. 
Nantucket,  Mass.,  3. 
Narragansett  Bay,  3. 
Narragansett    Fort,    battle    of,  lU'.i, 
200. 

Nash,  Gilbert,  375. 
Nashua  River,  298. 
Naumkeag,  [Salem]  5,0. 
Nelson's  Hill,  Everett,  190. 
Neponset,  Mass.,  5. 
Nevius,  Edward  P.,  152,  282. 


500 


INDEX. 


Newberry,  Tryal,  18,  101. 

Newbury,  Mass.,  455. 

Newburyport,  Mass.,  368,  378. 

New  England,  2-5,  7,  12-14,  32,  34, 
59,  62,  63,  66,  81,  85,  99,  101,  104, 
123,  129,  130,  134,  197,  267.  377,  400, 
421  ;  characteristics,  129-131  ; 
Order  of  Protection,  445. 

Newe  Towue,  [Cambridge]  10. 

Newfoundland,  4. 

Newhall,  Charles  E.,  451;  Edward 
B.,228,  231;  George,  192,200,230, 
280,  284, 293,  329,  332,  385,  394,  400, 
451,  452;  Henry  B.,  223,  231;  J. 
Walter,  163;  Thomas,  17,  18,  96; 
Newhall's  Block,  397,  402;  Wil- 
liam, 409. 

New  Hampshire,  42,  220,  422. 

New  Ipswich,   N.  H.,  371,  372. 

Newport,  R.  I.,  291. 

Newton,  Mass.,  297,  326. 

New  York  City,   172,  236,  352,  365. 

Nichols,  Addie  A.,  348;  Adeline  A., 

189  ;  George  G.,  242  ;  James,  105  ; 

Smith  W.,  106.  242;  Thomas,  85 

86. 

Nickerson,  Rev.  A.  S.,  177;  FredH., 
193;  Walter  I.,  286,  402,  403. 

Noddle's  Island,  [East  Boston!  3 
5. 

Norman,  George  H.,  291. 

Norris,  Henry  A.,  169,  222,  223,  230 
264,  277,  285,  460  ;  John  Oscar,  178^ 
180,  192-195,  ,329,  341,  450,  4-54; 
Rev.  Samuel,  138,  142;  Sarah  F.' 
385;  Rev.  Thomas  F.,  138,  160; 
Trueworthy,  338. 

Norrisville,  36,  460. 

North  Carolina,  3. 

North  Cliarlestown,  Mass.,  10. 

North  Kud,  North  Maiden  [Mel- 
rose], 14,  20,  47,  49,  .54,  388,  400 
401 

North  [Maiden]  River,  1,  5,  10  35 
42,81.  '       ' 

Northmen,  The,  3. 

Northrop,  Rev.  Isaac  H.,  147. 

North  School  District,  191,  200. 

Norton,  Daniel,   192,   193,  224,  229 

230,  281  ;  Harry  R.,  392  ;  John  R  ' 

283,  285,  286;   Ransom,  J.,  161. 
Norumbega,  3. 
Nowell,  Increase,  11,  12,  33  ;   Joshua 

T.,  268,  820,  475;  Samuel   H.    84, 

137. 


Noyes,  Charles  J.,  .375,  453  ;  George 
N.,  230,  336,  3.59  ;  George  O.,  242  • 
Moses  A.,  231. 


Oak  Grove  [Maiden],  26. 
Oakland  Street,  343. 
Oaks,  Thomas,  185. 
O'Callaghan,  Rev.  Dennis,  181. 
Odd  Fellows'  Hall,  434. 
Odd  Ladies,  443. 

Odiorne,  Ebenezer,  81  ;  George,  81 ; 

Thomas,  81. 
Odiorne's  Mill,  81,  307. 
Odlin,  Charles  C,  441,  451;  James 

E.,  441. 

O'Farrell,  Rev.  D.  J.,  181,  452. 

Old  Corn,  or  Samp  Mill,  69. 

Old  Customs,  463. 

Old  Families  and  Homesteads,  58- 
135 

Oldham,  John,  5. 

Old  Home  Week,  263,  422-24. 

"Old  Ironsides,"  419. 

Old  Pepe's  Cove,  28,  33,  35. 

"Old  South,"  462. 

Old  Time  church  going,  183,  184. 

Old  1653  Road,  see  Lebanon  street. 

Olin,  William  M.,  415. 

One  Hundredth  Anniversary,  416. 

Orange,  Mass.,  172. 

Orchestras:  Dow's,  365,  423;  Mel- 
rose, 261 ;  Orchestral  Association, 
365 ;  Tripp's,  365  ;  Moorhouse's 
Y.  M.  C.  A.,  252,  365. 

Orcutt,  Frank  E.,  194,  258,  286-288; 
Louie  H.,  256. 

Orris  [Green  Lane]  Street,  97,  128. 

Ormsby,  Charles  H.,  405. 

Orthodox  Congregational  Church, 
160,  172,  265,  362,  ,398,  399,  423, 
425,  452  ;  affiliated  societies,  1.52  ; 
anniversaries,  151  ;  its  history, 
142-155;  society  incorporated,  150; 
war  contribution,  235. 

Osborn,  Francis  A.,  200. 
Osgood,  Daniel,  192  ;  John,  44. 
Otis  Street,  55,  82,  106. 
Otter  River,  Eug.,  108. 
Overseers  of  the  Poor,  273,  275,  276, 
475. 

Packard,  Rev.  Isaac  H.,  140. 


INDEX. 


oOl 


Page,  Edward  S.,  27(),  ;552  ;  Han  id 
E.,  ;541,  4-20  ;  Jesse  W.,  HK]  ;  Moses 
S  ,  lo2,  I'.fJ,  19:^,  190,  22(},  242,  202, 
275,  270,  L104,  305,  338,  340-342, 
402,  410,  423,  454. 

Paine,  Johu  T.,  277,  289;  William, 
101. 

Palfrey,  Peter,  5. 

Palmer,  Abraham,  11  ;  Charles  E., 

424;     Frank    T.,    257,   202,    424; 

George,  419. 

Park  Commissioners,  318,  319,  ;;21- 
323,  413. 

Parks:  Barry,  319;  Base  Ball,  321 
Columbus,  28;  the  Common,  74 
318,  323,  413  ;  Ell  Pond,  321,  323 
Fordell,  28;  Pine  Banks,  25,  45 
47,  49,  52,  03,  07,  08,  331,  339 
Russell,  75;  Sewall  Woods,  23, 
28,  289,  319-321,  323,408. 

Parker,  Albon  W.,  283,  451  ;  Jacob, 
17,  124;  Moses,  150,  152,221,223; 
Rev.  Samuel  P.,  173. 

Parker  Place,  110,  117,  400. 

Patch,  Charles  A.,  257,  274,  348, 
349. 

Patterson,  Alonzo,  228,  231. 
Paul,  Wesley,  410;  William  F.,  103, 
228. 

Peabody,  Rev.  Andrew  P.,  177,  178  ; 

Torrey,  242. 
Pearce,  Thomas,  42. 
Pearson,  Henry  R.,  355. 
Peck,  Rev.  James  J.,  103;  Oren  H., 

227,    230,    285;    Thomas  B.,    177, 

348,  359,  370. 
Peirson,  Rev.  George,  102. 
Pemberton,   John,   430;    Lewis  E., 

242. 
Penny  Ferry,  57,  214. 
Penobscot  River,  3. 
Perkins,  Albert  P.,  230;   Benjamin, 

105;  Daniel  A.,  23,  479,  481;  Hora- 
tio N.,    127,    128,  175,    230,    350; 

James    F.,   242;   Johu,  228,    242; 

Rev.  John  W.,    139;   Joseph,   70. 
Perkins  Street,  319,  323. 
Perley,  Roscoe  D.,  340. 
Perr^',    Anna  J.,   411  ;    George    V., 

4(>9,   Herbert  J.,  414,  410. 
Philadelphia,  Pa.,  173,  230. 
I'liilbrick,  A.  J.,  337. 
Philippines,  the,  247,  248. 
Phillips,  George  William,  293,  309, 

310;  John,  207;   Walter  R.,  3S0  ; 

Weudall,  359;    Willard,  3S0. 


Philpot,  Robert,  451. 
Phinney,  Erastus  ().,  282,  284,  285, 
317  ;  Stephen  J.,  2S4. 

Phippen,  German  vS.,  278,  282,  285 
308,  329,  331. 

Pickles,  Rev.  John  D.,  140,  423. 

Pierce,  Ansel  B.,  231,284;  Cynthia, 
101;  Frank  N.,  392;  Robert  W., 
231  ;  S.  A  ,  100;  Rev.  Tliomas  C, 
137;  William,  101,  285.-109;  Wil- 
liam L.,  231,  207,  392;  William 
P.,  336,  338. 

Pike,  Jacob  F.,  242. 

Pilling,  James  L.,  243. 

Pine  Banks  Golf  Club,  09 

Pine  Hill,  24,  29,  105,  320,  327,  438, 
439. 

Pineo,  Allstou  H.,  392. 

Pitman,  David  B.,  303. 

Pleasant  Street,  Maiden,  120,  180, 
420. 

Plymouth,  Mass.,  2,  4,  371. 

Point  Shirley  expedition,  90,  213, 
214. 

Poland,  Charles  H.,  355;  William 
C,  355. 

Police  Department,  392,  393 ;  As- 
sociation, 393. 

Pollard,  John,  401. 

Pollock,  George  W.,  231 

Poison,  Thomas,  193. 

Pond  Feiloe  [Melrose],  31,  38,  79, 
81,  400,  401. 

Poole,  Jonathan,  02;  Joatham,  47  ; 
William  F.,  231,  235,  33(i,  359,  :17(), 
377,  449. 

Poor  Farm  [Pratt],  49,  .M,  121,  409. 

Poor,  Samuel,  80. 

Pope,  John,  234. 

Poplar  Street,  55. 

Porter,  Charles,  105,  134;  Jonathan, 

215  ;  Lucius  L.  D.,  220. 
Porter  Street,  19,  32,  49.  54.  98.  102. 

105,    112,   110,  119,    134,  212,    343. 

400,  407,  438,  451. 
Portland,  Maine,  127,  15S.  172.  230. 
Porto  Rico,  247,  248. 
Portsmouth,  N.  IL,  307. 
Post  Offices,  VJ.\,  204,  404,  405. 
Potter,  Samuel  G.,  380,  387. 
Powder  Horn  Hill,  9,77. 
Pranker's  Pond,  W'l  I . 


502 


INDEX. 


Pratt,  Abigail  S.,93;  Charles,  54, 
121,  122,  131,  134,  141,  142,  168, 
331-333;  Daniel  S.,  243  ;  Dexter, 
166,  193.  231,  283;  Henry,  93; 
Henry  W.,  243  ;  Jacob,  45  ;  John, 
105,  117,  122,  134,  168,  169,  211- 
213;  Mary,  105;  Mary  R.,  144; 
Mary  W.,  439;  Mercy,  188;  Sam- 
uel, 93  ;  Rev.  Stillman,  143-145, 
147,  150;  Thomas,  53,  457;  Wil- 
liam, 93;  William  L.,  451. 

Pratt  Memorial  Chapel,  142. 

Pratt  Street,  92. 

Preble,  Frank  F.,  320,  321 ;  Samuel 
S.,  Jr.,  176,  453. 

Precincts  and  Wards,  447. 

Prentice,  Charles,  243;  Rev.  George, 
140,  449. 

Prentis,  Thomas  T.,  289. 

Prescott,  Horace,  243. 

Prince,  Albert  G.,  243. 

Pring,  Martin,  2,  3,  4. 

Prior,  C.  Edward,  347. 

Protestant  Methodist  Church,  139, 
147,  160-162,  265,  455,  456. 

Provaudie,  Paul  H.,  273,  275,  316. 

Providence,  R.  I.,  369. 

Provincetown,  248,  383. 

Purditt,  Samuel,  206. 

Pynchou,  John,  108,  109. 

Queen  Anne,  63,  96. 

Quimby,    A.    A.,  365;    D.    C,    191; 

Rev.  George  W.,   170. 
Quincy,  Mass.,  5,  263,  297. 
Quinu,  John  E.,  243;  John  H.,  243  ; 

Patrick,   243. 

Railroads :  Boston  Elevated  Rail- 
way Co.,  406;  Boston  &  Maine, 
20,  36,  54,  63,  81,  91,  125,  142,  143, 
176,  180,  191,  309,  325,  404  ;  Boston 
«&  Northern  Street  Railwa)'  Co., 
36,  406;  Eastern,  99;  East  Mid- 
dlesex, 405,  406;  East  Side,  406; 
Lowell,  325;  Lynn  &  Boston, 
406  ;  Maiden  &  Melrose  Horse 
Railroad,  36;  Street  Railroads, 
405-407;  Stonehani,  405;  Wake- 
field Railway  Company,  30. 

Raleigh,  Sir  Walter,  3. 

Ramsdell,  John,  216 

Ramsey,  Alric,  418. 

Rand,  Redford  M.,  392. 

Randall,  Lucy,  161  ;  J.  Lyman,  360. 

Rankin,  F.  W.  A.,  Jr.,  10:5,  226,  230. 

Ranlet,  Samuel  A.,  359. 


Rattlesnake  Hill,  438. 

Ravine  Road,  296,  324. 

Rawson,   Edward,   207. 

Ray,  George  M.,  385;   M.  L.,  282. 

Reading  Hill,  44,  134. 

Reading,    Mass.,    10,   14-16,   19,   29, 

40-44,  48,  60,  62,  69,  70,  82,  85,  94, 

98,  99,  131-134,  143,  151,  466. 
Reading   Road    [Main   Street],   19, 

47-49,  52,  75,  93,  94,  138. 
Recruiting  Committee,  Revolution, 

462,  463. 
Red  Mills,  27,  390. 
Reed,  Charles  F.,  419. 
Reedy  Pond,  17,  51. 
Registrars  of  Voters,  288. 
Remick,   Joseph,    403;    Stuart    B., 

414. 

Reservoir  Hill,  24. 

Revere,  Mass.,  25,  103,  297. 

Revere,  Paul,  419,  462. 

Revolutionary  War  :  25,  84,  86,  88, 
90,  105,  118,  131,  133,  206;  battle  of 
Bunker  Hill,  32,  87,  118,  133,  215; 
of  White  Plains,  118;  Beacham's 
Point  Post,  214;  Company  rolls, 
211-214  ;  Incidents,  459-461 ;  Mai- 
den's patriotic  instructions,  208- 
210;  Point  Shirley  expedition,  90, 
213-215;  Rhode  Island  expedi- 
tion, 90,  213,  214. 

Reynolds  George,  W.,  386. 

Rhode  Island,  133,  432. 

Rice,  Samuel,  172,  175;  Rev.  Wil- 
liam,  139. 

Richardson,  George  E.,243;  Hiram 
D.,  231  ;  Israel,  127  ;  John  P.,  243  ; 
Lewis  H.,  226,  231;  William  H., 
243,  424;  Winthrop,  125,  126,437, 
438. 

Richards,  Rev.  Daniel,  139. 

Richmond,  Rev.  John  B.,  173. 

Richmond,  Va.,  221. 

Rich,  Seth,  144,  150,  152. 

Riley,  James  W.,  275,  294. 

Rink,  John  J.,  340. 

Ripley,  Augustus,  228  ;  Caroline  M., 
191;  Thomas  W.,  193,  194,  360, 
475. 

Ritchie,  Rev.  Robert,  173. 

Roach,  Benjamin,  231. 

Robbins,  Charles,  226. 

Roberts,  Charles  H.,  243  ;  Ernest 
W.,  262,  420;  Oliver  A.,  195,  19(), 
198,  378;  Walter  II.,  403,  408. 


INDEX. 


:.(>:{ 


Robertson,  Henry  A.,  418. 

Robinson,  Addie  K.,;>82;  Ikiijainin 
l'\,  10:5,  I'JC. ;  Carl,  411);  Oeor},'e 
D.,24ti;  Henry,  2:51,  282;  Henry 
J.,  282;  John  G.,  2t52,  272,  27:;, 
27(3,  :}14,  ;)r).j,  423,  44<);  Joseph  H., 
275,  810;  Thomas,  94;  Samuel  A., 
228. 

Robson.  John  W.,  198,  281,  801,820, 
403;  Louis  E.  K.,  858,  8.'>St. 

Rocks  anil  Minerals,  469. 

Roilgers,  Fred  H.,  418 

Rodman,  William  A.,  318,  418. 

Rogers'  Hall,  1(54,  180;  Block,  405. 

Roundabout  Club,  178,  358,  859. 

Rowe,  Ai,  282. 

Rowell,  Stephen  P.,  248. 

Roxbury,  Mass.,  5(5. 

Royal  Arcanum,  448. 

Royal,  Isaac,  458,  459. 

Rumuey  Marsh,  11. 

Russell  Club,  172. 

Russell,  Daniel,  75,  171,  221,  283, 
257,  280,  281,  287,  288,  298,  829, 
332,  841,  847,  894,  897,  899,  402, 
411,  412. 

Russell  Street,  74,  94. 

Ryder,  Frauk  J.,  418;  Thomas  J., 
451. 

Saddleback  Hill,  83,  35. 

Safford,  George  A.,  412. 

Sagamore,  George,  9;  James,  9; 
John,  9,  40,  77 

Saiutouge,  Jean  Allfonsce  de,  3. 

Salem,  Mass.,  5,  (3,  8,  9,  77-79,  116. 
117,  172,  376. 

Salem  Road,  or  Path,  45,  52,  78,  215 

Salem  Street,  Maiden,  103,  190,  406. 

Salisbury,  Mass.,  378. 

Sanborn,  John  E-,  816. 

San  ford  Street,  107. 

San  Francisco,  Cal.,  144,  442,  456. 

Sargent,  Rev.  Aaron,  141  ;  Albert 
T.,  809;  Amos,  189  ;  Ezra,  76,  123, 
208  ;  George,  281  ;  George  B.,  281  ; 
George  C,  280;  John,  19;  Win- 
gate  P.,  152,  192,  229.  230,  280, 
289, 291,  294,  295,  809,  836,  402, 449. 

Sargent  Street,  93,  193. 

Sassard,  Augustus,  248. 

Saugus,  Mass.,  5,  28,  24,  48,  54,  78, 
91,  116,  117,  120,  185,  148,  151,  226, 
822,  405,  416,  460,  476. 

Saugus  River,  see  Abousett  River. 

Saunders,  Abuer  M.,  165,  166. 


Savage,  Jameb,  77,    Rev.    Minot  J.. 

178,  368. 
Savery,  Elizabeth,  174. 
Sawver,   Henrv  W.,  841  ;   Nellie  R.. 

842;   Roswell  W.,  41U. 

Scadan  [District],  20,  25;   Fells,  51, 

52,  70,  78. 
Schaedel,  Charles  G.,  408. 
Schenectady,  N.  Y.,  875. 
Schooff,  W.  F.,  405. 

Schools  and  School  Houses  :  Com- 
mittees, 202-205  ;  Converse,  I«>4, 
198,  201  ;  1).  W.  Gooch,  192,  201, 
828 ;  Education  Society,  857  ; 
l-ranklin,  195  ;  Franklin  Street, 
155,  201  ;  High,  120,  192.  194-199, 
201,  202,  261,  880,  855,  387,  428, 
440,  458,  454  ;  High  School  Alum- 
ni, 198,  199,  440;  Horace  Mann. 
198,  194,  201  ;  Kindergarten,  'JOl  ; 
Lincoln,  197,201  ;  Mary  A.  Liver- 
more,  194,  201  ;  Ripley,  198,  201  ; 
Sewall,  120.  191,  201;  Superin- 
tendents first  employed,  198  ; 
Warren  194,  201  ;  Washington, 
196,  201  ;  Whittier,  198,  201  ; 
Winthrop,  194,  201  ;  Town  grant. 
266. 

School  Street,  101. 

Scituate,  Mass.,  5. 

Sconeld,  Rev.  C.  I.,  160. 

ScoUay  Sijuare,  Boston,  407. 

Scots  Charitable  Society,  87. 

Scoville,  Rev.  Augustus  E.,  1()8.  200. 

Sears,  Elisha  F.,  280. 

Seaver,  Rev.  Nathaniel,  Jr.,  178,  859. 

Seavey,  Leonard  C,  243. 

Selectmen,  List  of,  280,  281. 

Selee,  Rev.  Nathan  P.,  281. 

Serratt,  William  D.,  413. 

Sessions,  Rev.  Alexander  J.,  147. 

Severance,  Sargent  F.,  280. 

Severy,  G.  S.,  088;  Solomon,  281. 
425 

Sewall.  John  S.,  228.  280;  Joseph. 
880;  Lucy  F).,  8i9;  vSamuel  K  . 
28,  280,  28'5,  257,  260,  288,  290,  :'.I9. 
820,  849.  879,  898,  401,  412,  41;:; 
Stinson,  :i88. 

Sewall  Woods  Road,  819,  820 
Sewer  Commissioners,  802,  808. 
Seymour,  Rev.  Charles  IL,  176. 
Shannon,  Martin.  248. 
Shaw,  I'lorcntinc  S.,  160. 
Shawmut  [Boston],  5,  17. 


504 


INDEX. 


Shelton,  Albert  F.,  226,243;  Charles 
W.,  243;  Eliza  J.,  161;  John,  36, 
82,  230;  John  Parker,  243;  Rich- 
ard H.,  226;  Stephen,  225,  230, 
282,  285;  Stephen  A.,  336;  Stephen 
W.,  224,  226-228;  Thomas,  221, 
243. 

Shepard,  Charles  H.,  283;  Chester, 
272,  299,  321,  354  ;  Rev.  James,  139. 

Shepard  Manufacturing  Co.,  33,  158. 

Sherburne,  Edgar  E.,  392;  Elmer 
D.,  365. 

Sherman,  William  F.,  295. 

Shilly  Shally  Brook,  27,  35,  307,  308. 

Shiner  Pond,  326. 

Short,  Rev.  Charles  L.,  173,  175, 
176,  452. 

Shumway,  F'ranklin  P.,  153.  252, 
336,  338,  340,  363,  411,  413,  454. 

Shute,  Charles  N.,  275,  276,  299; 
John,  83. 

Sidewalks,  first  built,  55. 

Sil.sbee,  Rev.  William,  176. 

Simonds  Joseph  F.,  243;  Joseph  R., 
243,  277,  282.  295,  360  ;  Joseph  W., 
243. 

Simons,  Alexander,  T  ,  176. 

Simpson,  William  F.,  392. 

Sims,  Rev.  Thomas,  148.  151,  163, 
172,  252,  453. 

Singer,  John,  125,  390,  405,  475. 

Sinking  Fund  Commissioners,  2b6, 
287. 

Sixth  Street,  74,  318,  406. 

Skinner,  Abraham,  188  ;  Rev. 
Charles  A.,  171,  172  ;  Charles  E., 
243;  Rev.  Henry  B.,  139;  Rev. 
Otis  A.,  169;  Sarah,  95;  Thomas, 
429. 

Slaves  and  Slavery,  457-459:  Betsey, 
459  ;  Brahma,  Bucknam,  458  ; 
Cato  Lynde,  457  ;  Deed  of  Pidge, 
85;  Dinah,  65,  66;  George,  459; 
Hagar,  459  ;  Harn,  00;  Indenture 
to  Joseph  Barrett,  104;  Israel, 
103,  104;  Mira,  459  ;  Nancy,  459  ; 
Negroes  bought,  98  ;  Peter,  60  ; 
Phyllis  Willis,  458;  Pomp,  86, 
459  ;  Samson,  75  ;  Simon,  457  ; 
Stephen,  459;  Violet  Hills,  458; 
Zachary,  74. 

Slocomb,  Elvin  C,  392;  Henry  W., 

243. 
Slocum,  Asa,  284. 
Small,  Albert  E.,  198;   Edward  A., 

243;   Edwin  S.,  47,  209,  272,  275, 

353,  354,  414-416,  423.449;  James, 

231  ;  John  M.,  151,  153. 


Smith,  Albert  M.,  105;  Brothers, 
383;  Carl  B.,  163;  Francis,  42-44, 
Francis  A.,  419;  Fred  W.,  419  ; 
George  A.,  397;  George  E.,  415; 
Jerome  T.,  392;  John,  1,  18,  41, 
44,  88,  89,  231,  284;  Rufus,  192, 
221,  223,  227,  228,  230,  289  ;  Rufus 
W.,  419,  434;  Thomas,  117,  243; 
Way  land  R.,  243;  Rev.  Wesley 
L.,  164;  William  A.,  408. 

Smith's  [Crystal  Lake]  Pond,  16, 
19,  31,  41,  322. 

Snow,  Joel,  126,  155,  193,  194,  223, 
232,  282,  291,  309. 

Soldiers'  Home,  77;  Memorial,  260, 
261 ;  Monument,  166,  261-3,  424. 

Somerville,  Mass.,  10,  25,  177,  297, 
301. 

Somes,  Edgar  R.,  288. 

Sons  and  Daughters  of  Maine,  442. 

Sons  of  Veterans  :  W.  F.  Barry 
Camp,  No.  79,  257,  260 ;  Ladies' 
Aid,  260,  424. 

Soule,  William  S.,  276. 

"South  East,"  20. 

Souther,  John  B.,  193,  281,  288,  295, 
310,  329,  332,  390. 

Southwick,  Abigail,  94;  Edmund 
B.,  94,  308. 

Southworth,  Winslow  B.,  416. 

Spanish  American  War :  Army 
Christian  commission,  252;  bat- 
tles, 247,  248  ;  history  of,  246-253; 
list  of  soldiers  and  sailors  in,  247- 
251  ;  reception,  251  ;  Woman's 
Auxiliary  of  the  Volunteer  Aid 
Association,  253. 

Spaulding,  Heurv  H.,  243;  James 
W.,  258. 

Spear  Street,  49,  51. 

Spencer,  William,  11. 

Spot  Pond,  8,  28,  30,  33-35,  75,  78, 
81,  101,  118,  129,  290, 292-294,  296- 
299,  307,  308,  313,  324-327,  388; 
Brook,  27,  28,  35,  52,  81,  82,  90, 
118,  161,  307,  308,  311-315;  Brook 
Cascade,  27  ;  Water  Company, 
286,  291  ;  Water  Works,  33,  310 ; 
history  of,  290-300. 

Spy  Pond,  30. 

Sprague,  Alfred  W.,  231  ;  Charles 
H.,  88,  89;  Cotton,  84,  136;  Ed- 
ward, 5,  6,  79;  Rev.  Ezra,  139; 
Henry,  169  264,  277,  280,  282  ; 
Henry  H.,  300,  314  ;  John  41,  43, 
44,  60,  81-83,  87-90,  105,  118,  185, 
207,  215,  429;  Jonathan,  84,  123, 
124;  Nathan,  216;    Peter  S.,   89; 


INDEX. 


505 


Phineas,  1(5,  51,  h?,,  54,  81-84,  136, 
137,  211,  213,  460;  his  diary  of 
"  dark  day,"  85  ;  Phiueas  S.,S9; 
Phineas  \V.,  89;  Ralph,  5,  6,  38, 
42,  77-81  ;  Revolutionary  history, 
86-90;  Richard,  5,  6,  38.  59,  77- 
82.  105  ;  Samuel,  16,  34,  40,  53,  54, 
60,  81-84,  96,  104,  124,  129.  212, 
216.243;  Timothy,  290;  William, 
5,  6,  77-80,  90. 

Sprague  Street,  Maiden,  190. 
Springfield,  Mass.,  133. 
Springfield,  111.,  254. 
Squanto,  or  Tisquantum,  4. 
Squaw  Sachem,  11,  12. 
Stackpole,  Rev.  Charles  H.,  140. 
Stafford,  Roy  D.,  163. 
Standish,  Myles,  4. 
Stanley,  William  E.,  160. 
Stantial,  George  C,  231,  283;  Ma- 
tilda E.,  273,  275  ;  Thomas  B.,  244. 

Stanwood,  Joseph  E.,  150. 
Staples,    H.    A.,    411;    Rev.    Mark, 
139. 

Star  of  Melrose,  445. 
Star  of  the  West,  217. 
Stars  and  Stripes,  the,  453. 
Start,  Rev.  William  A.,  171. 
State  Board  of  Health,  301. 
Stearns,  Phineas,  463. 
Stebbins,  Thadeus  S.,  244. 
Steele,  Azel  E.,  231,  282;  Rev.  E., 

138. 
Stephenson,  Benjamin  F.,  254. 
Sterling,  Rev.  Paul,  176. 
Stevens,    Charles  H.,  244;  Charles 

T.,    281,    283;    Edgar    M.,    230; 

Harrv,  418  ;  Rev.  Henry  A.,  147, 

151,  423,    452;    Thomas  H.,  244; 

Walter  C,  275,  276,  283,  302,  311, 

319,  320,  418,  451. 

Stewart,  William  D.,  192,  194,  195, 
200,  272. 

Stilphen,  John  E.,  244. 

vStimpson,  James,  40. 

St.  Mary's  Church,  102  ;  history  of, 

180-183. 
Stockwell,  Dean  T.,  391. 

Stone,  Cahin,  231  ;  George  F.,  29, 
230,  254,  281,  292,  360,  394,  449; 
Henry,  244;  Willliam  H.,  226, 
230. 

Stone  Crushers,  410, 

Stone  Fort,  the,  437,  438. 


Stoneham,  Mass.,  10,  15,  16,  23  24 
28,  33,  34,  47.  51,  54,  75.  76,'  9l', 
93-95,  97.  98,  122,  123,  126,  128, 
129,  134,  143,  181,  191,  212,  288, 
290,  297,  301,  306,  308,  313,  315 
322,  325,  326,  379,  385,  405,  416, 
406,  481,  482. 

Stoneham  Road,  47,  51,  52. 
Stoughton,  William,  70. 
Stout,  Richard,  416. 
Stratton,   Danforth    D.,   152;    Rev. 
Frank  K.,  140;   William  U.,  231. 
Streeter,  Rev.  Sebastian,  191. 

Street  Lights :  Globe  Gas  Light 
Co.,  407;  Maiden  Electric  Light 
Co.,  408;  Maiden  &  Melrose  Gas 
Light  Co.,  407;  New  England 
Gas  Co.,  407  ;  Wheeler  Reflector 
Co.,  407,  408. 

Strong,  Caleb,  107. 

Sturges,  Allen  H.,  361. 

Sturtevant,  James  S.,  231. 

Sullivan,  J.  Langdon,  420. 

Summer  Street,  47,  54,  55,  117,  120. 

Summers,  Samuel  F.,  231. 

Sumner,  Stephen,  244. 

Sunderland,  La  Roy.  139. 

Swain,   Charles   E.,  33;    Jeremiah. 
■     70'. 

Swain's  Pond,  16,  18-20,  31,  50, 
51,  132,  141,  193  ;  Avenue,  31,  132, 

141,  193;  Road,  52;  Chapel,  [The 
Pratt  Memorial]  142. 

Sweetser,  Rev.  S.  B.,  140  ;  Thomas 
T.,  244. 

Swett  Block,  191,  435. 
Swett,  Rev.  C.  D.,  164. 
Swillaway,  Henry,  100. 
Sylvan  Street,  44,  55,  60,  63,  69,  410. 
Tabbut,  Charles  H.,  247,  419. 
Tainter,  Ezra,  121  ;  George  A.,  244. 
Talbot,  George  B.,  169;  Rev.Josiah 
W.,  169,  170,  171,  265,  285. 

Tappan  Street,  107. 

Taylor,  Father,  138;   Fernando  C, 

142,  223,  228,  230,  336,  450  ;  Frank- 
lin, 169,  277,  280  ;  John,  456  ; 
Rev.  John  G.,  155.  157,  158,  160, 
256  ;  Roswell  C,  281  ;  R.  M.,  93  , 
Shubael  L.,  21,  22,  264,  2(i5,  277, 
280,  282,  284. 

Tea  troubles,  461,  462. 

Telegraph,  the:  Atlantic  Telegraph 
Co.,  407;  Western  Union  Tele- 
graph Co.,  407. 


50  (; 


INDEX. 


Telephone,  the,  New  England  Tel- 
ephone &  Telegraph  Co.,  407. 

Temperance  :  Crystal  Lake  Div. 
Sons  of  Temperance,  357;  Guid- 
ing Star  Lodge,  I.  O.  of  G.  T., 
428  ;  contribution  of,  235;  Melrose 
Lodge,  L  O.  of  G.  T.,  428;  Reso- 
lutions, 425-427;  Siloam  Temple 
of  Honor,  426  ;  Siloam  Social 
Temple,  427  ;  St.  Mary's  Catho- 
lic Total  Abstinence  Society,  429  ; 
Woman's  Christian  Temperance 
Union,  410,  427. 

Ten  Hill  Farm.  40. 

Terwilleger,  Lyell  T.,  228,  231. 

Tewksbury,  Rev.  George  A.,  148. 

Thacher,  Rev.  Peter,  208,  215; 
vSaniuel,  214, 

Thatcher,  Frank  D.,  198,  362. 

Thomas,  Frederick  W.,  175;  Laura 
B.,  174. 

Thompson,  Christopher  B.,  392; 
David,  5;  George  A.,  153;  John, 
227,  228,  244;   Napoleon  B.,  163. 

Thompson's  Island,  5. 

Thorndike,  James  P.,  294. 

Three  County  Troop,  82. 

Three  Mile  [Myle]  Brook;  10,  13, 
35,  65,  81. 

Thresher,  James  M.,  169,  277,  278, 
280,  285,  329,  409. 

Thurston,  Samuel,  160. 

Tilden,  Rev.,  William  P.,  176. 

Timlin,  John  T.,  275,  317. 

Tisquantum,  or  Squanto,  4. 

Todd,  William  H.,  160. 

Tolman,  Rev.  Robert  F.,  163,  452. 

Toothaker,  Eleanor  Brown,  451,  452. 

Toronto,  Canada,  148. 

Torrey,  Bradford,  380,  467-469; 
William,  43. 

Torsleff,  Rev.  Andrew  J.,  172. 

Tourtellot,  Samuel  M.,  163,  231. 

Tower,  Benjamin,  244;  John  W., 
230. 

Town  clocks,  398,  399 ;  counsel, 
286  ;  seals,  399,  400. 

Town  Meetings  :  first  established, 
80,  81;  our  first,  264-266;  our 
last,  266,  267,  280, 

Townsend,  Solomon,  459,  464. 

Treasurers,  Town  and  City,  284. 

Tremont  Street,  55,  1^5,  126,  158, 
303,  306,  410. 

Tremont  Temple,  318. 

Trenton  Street,  55. 


Trinity  Episcopal  Church,  history 

of,   172-176  ;    new   church   given, 

173-175;  affiliated  societies,   176; 

contribution  of,  236. 
Tripp,  Harry  L.,  365. 
Trott,  Andrew  P.,  226,  230. 
Trowbridge,  Henry  E.,  361. 
Tucker,  Albert  F.,  419;   Henry  G., 

169;    Thomas    H.,    152;    William 

L.,  244. 
Tudor,  Frederick  32  ;  William,  32. 
Tufts  College,  172,  326. 
Tufts,  Mary,  100  ;  Peter,  47,  50,  63. 

99,  100,  118;   Simon,  458. 
Tullar,  Rev.  C.  E.,  165. 
Turner,  Rev.   Edward,   168;  J.  W., 

191. 

Twitchell,  James  H.,  247. 

Tyer,  Catherine  L.,  173-175  ;  Eliza- 
beth, 175;  Henry  G.,  175;  Horace 
H.,  174. 

Tyler,  William  N.,  163,  244;  Josie 
B.,  365. 

Tyzzer,  Joseph,  409. 

Uncanoonucs,  the,  326. 

Underwood,  Benjamin,  231  ;  John 
N.,  166;   Marshall,  248. 

Unitarian  Congregational  Church, 
358,  423  ;  affiliated  societies,  180  ; 
history  of,  176-180. 

United  Order  of  the  Golden  Cross, 
443. 

United  States  Rubber  Co.,  67. 

Unity  Club,  359. 

Unity  Hall,  265. 

Universalist  Church,  First,  155,  178, 
265  ;  affiliated  societies,  172  ;  con- 
tribution of,  235  ;  history  of,  168- 
172 

Upham,  A.  Eugene,  192;  Albert, 
116;  Albert  G.,  Ill;  Amos,  111, 
113,  114,  116,  117;  Asa,  113,  114, 
200,  282;  Benjamin  R.,  114,409; 
Charles  E.,  418;  Charles  F.,  232; 
Charles  H.,  244;  Dolly,  44,  51, 
118;  Eli,  116;  Eri,  114;  Esther 
N.,  114  ;  Ezra,  211,  212,  214; 
Frank  K.,  108;  Frank  R.,  114, 
269,  273,  275,  283,  403,  418  ;  Rev. 
Frederick,  114,  139;  Freeman, 
115,  200,  284,  419;  George,  115, 
161;  Henry  B,  58;  Henry  W, 
244;  Jabez,  110;  Jesse,  48,  115- 
117,  186;  John,  41,  48,  108,  112, 
429;  Joshua,  115,  116,  282;  Mary 
E.,   112,   114,  420;    Nathan,   116; 


INDEX. 


.)()■ 


Nathaniel,  51,  52,  185;  Orne,  114  ; 
Osgood  \V.,  115,  226;  Phiueasi 
18,  20,  108-112,  115,  418.  459; 
Rachael  E.,  114;  Richard,  14,  15; 
Ruth,  109;  Samuel  O.,  416  ;  Sam- 
uel S.,  114  ;  Sylvanus,  230;  Tarn- 
sen,  110;  Thomas,  15;  Timothy, 
115;  Warren,  108;  William,  51, 
111,  lis,  211,  212,  214,  258. 

Upham  Hill,  110,  114,  115,  328; 
Lane,  49,  51,  117;  Street,  19,31, 
48,  49,  51,  55,  73,  78,  98,  101,  110, 
114-117,  136.  142,  147,  151,  160, 162, 
168,  181,  189.  191,  192,  201,  318, 
397,  406,  410. 

Upton,  John,  Jr.,  40. 

Upwav,  Dorsetshire.  England,  5, 
79.  ' 

U.  S.  Grant  Post  4,  G.  A.  R.,  254- 
262,  422.  424,  454. 

U.  S.  Grant  VV'oman's  Relief  Corps. 
No.  16,  260. 

Valuation  Table,  472,  473. 
Varney,  A.  H.,  383. 
Vaughn,  William  W.,  231,  418. 
Vermont,  422. 
Verrazano,  John,  3. 
Vial,  John,  289. 
Vine  Street,  55.  119. 
Vinland,  3. 

Vinton,  Aaron  91,  127  ;  Beuoni,  54, 
95.  106,  122-124,  212,  214,  463; 
Edwin  A.,  244;  Ezra,  95,  124,  126- 
129,  132,  212  ;  Gray,  244  ;  Hannah, 
95;  John,  122-124,  212,  214,  463; 
Rev.  John  Adams,  58;  Joseph. 
127;  Martha,  134;  Mary,  132,  200; 
Thomas,  54,  91,  94,  95,  122-125, 
129,  132,  212;  Timothy,  124,  129, 
132,  212. 

Vinton  Hill,  see  West  Hill. 

Vinton  Street,  27,  47,  54,  82,  94, 
105,  106,  122,  123,  126,  127,  192, 
265,  319,  323,  410,  413,  463. 

Virginia,  93. 

Waite,  [Wayte]  Charles  A.,  226; 
Ezra,  132  ;  John,  14,  60,  13z,  418, 
429;  Joseph  17;  Mary.  14;  Na- 
thaniel. 186;  Ruth,  122;  Sarah, 
122  ;   William,  211,  463. 

Waitt,  John  R.,  244. 

Wakefield,  [South  Reading]  Mass., 
15,  16,  23,  24,  28,  36,41,  44,  54,  91, 
94.  95,  143.  246,  303,  306,  322,  328, 
405,  416,  482. 

Walford,  Thomas,  5,  77. 


Walker.  Benjamin   R.,  231  ;   D.  H., 

409;   L.  P.,  217. 
Walnut  Street,  54. 
Walpole,  N.   H.,  177,  376. 
Walton,   John,     15,    90.    21:),     -JU  ; 
Samuel  L.,  409. 

Ward,   James,    387  ;     Merrill,   -^^T 
Rev.  Nathaniel,  14. 


Iph, 


23.- 


261 1, 
353. 


Warren,   Charles    H.,    483;    Ra 

230;   Myris  H.,  247. 
Warren  Street,  194. 
War  subscription  lists,  229-232, 
Warwick,   Earl  of,  4. 
Washburn,  Frank   L.,   194,  196. 

273,  275,  286,  299,    316,    321, 

360,  403.  451. 

Washington  Avenue,  Chelsea,  45; 
D.  C,  217,  218,  220,  236,  363,  365  ; 
Street,  51,  52,  62,  63.  75,  90,  164, 
193,  307,  389,  477. 

Water  Commissioners,  269,  291, 
309,  401. 

Waterhouse,  William  A.,  281,  362. 
Water  Loan  Bonds,  292. 
Water  Loan  Sinking  Fund,  292,  293  ; 
Commissioners,  286,  287. 

Watertown,  Mass.,  70,  111,  165,  210, 

211,  297. 
Waverley  Avenue,  32,  110,  116,  117, 

406  ;  Block,  173,  347.  385,  386, 431, 

432. 

Wayte,  see  Waite. 

Wayte's  Mount,   14,  25,  42,  45,  52, 

59,  67.  78,  81,  215,  461. 
Webcowet,  11,  12. 

Webster,  Daniel,  134  ;  David  L.,  36, 
192,  336,  398;  John  G.,  192,  336. 

Weeks,  Rev.  Joseph,  178,  179. 
Welcome,  Ann,  103. 
Wellman,  Arthur  H.,  420. 
Wells,  Charles  A.,  244  ;  William  H.. 

231,  388,  419. 
Wells,  Maine,  370. 
Welsh,  James.  207. 
Wentworth,  Oliver  T.,  232. 
Wessaguset  [Weymouth]  5. 
Westall,  Rev.  Henry  A.,  172,  180. 
West  Cambridge,  Mass.,  10. 
Westcott,  Rev.  Henry,  178,  452. 
Westgate's  Hall,  336,  337. 
Westgate,  Herbert  H.,  283;  Joseph 

E.,  230. 


508 


INDEX. 


West     Hill     [Vintou      Hill,     High 

Rock],  28. 
Weymouth,  Mass.,  5,  108,  375,  380. 
Wheeler,  Francis,  43  ;  Gardner,  228, 

230;  George  G.,  230. 
White,  Alverse  L.,  152,  230  ;  Charles 

L.,  244 ;  Clinton  196,  269,  289,  354, 

450;  Edwin,  164;  George  W.,  450. 

Whitefield,  Rev.  George,  98. 

Whitehead,  James,  207. 

White  Plains,  Battle  of,  118. 

White  Rock,  26,  28,  324. 

Whitman,  Alonzo  G.,  199,  202,  358, 
359,399;   Florence  M,,  152. 

Whitney,  Anne,  3,  349;  Edward  H., 
244  ;   Hiram,  404,  425  ;   S.  B.,  361. 

Whittemore,  Benjamin,  60  ;  Rev. 
Thomas,  41,  168,  191. 

Whittier,  John  G.,  192. 

Whittier  School,  193  ;  Street,  296. 

Whyte,  Oliver,  230. 

Wigglesworth,  Rev.  Michael,  110; 
his  "Day  of  Doom,"  186  ;  Samuel, 
186. 

Wilbur,  Ralph  H.,  386. 

Wilcox,  Daniel  W.,    222,    285,  449. 

Wilde,  Benjamin  F.,  244  ;  Frank  D., 
347;  George  A.,  347;  Joseph  D., 
169,  172,  229,  230,  2.57,  280,  289, 
294,  295,  389,  450. 

Wilder,  Marshall  P.,  478. 

Wiley,  Rev.  Ephraim,  137,  1C8. 

Wilkey,  Walter,  139. 

Wilkins,  Hattie  A.,  440. 

Wilkinson,  John,  48,  49,  131;  Wil- 
liam N.,  284. 

Willard,  Simon,  72,  82. 

Willcox,  Rev.  William  H.,  157. 

Williams,  Leonard  F.,  386;  Wil- 
liam L.,  175,  176,  359, 386, 404, 453. 

Willis,  Abel,  169,  172,  419;  Arthur 
M.,  252,  311,  449;  Rev.  Lemuel, 
168. 

Willow  Street,  55,  147. 

Wilmington,  N.  C,  371. 

Wilson,  Charles  E.,  365  ;  Rev.  Dan- 
iel M.,  177,  178,  358  ;  Henry,  218  ; 
John,  11,  12,  187;  Joseph,  18,  51, 
52;   Rev.  Joseph  K.,  163,  268. 

Winchester,  Mass.,  301,  324,  325. 

Wingate,  Rev.  Charles,  173. 


Wing,  Charles  J.,  392. 

Winnisimet  [Chelsea],  5,  9,  29,  41- 

44,  60,  69,  77,  82. 
Winslow,  Edward,  4. 
Winsor,  Justin,  376. 
Winterset,  Iowa,  378. 
Winthrop,  Gov.  John,  <i,   11,  12,  33, 

40,  43,  92. 
Winthrop,     Mass.,    25,    297,     301   ; 

Street,  55,  119,  121. 
Woburn,  Mass.,  10,  13,  36,  70,   132, 

134,  301,  326,  362,  405. 
Wolcott,  Roger,  270,  271,420. 
Woodbury,  Francis  P.,  280  ;  John.  5. 
Wood,  Caroline  M.,    126;    Charles 

E.,  418;   Elizabeth,  161;  Fred  L., 

272,  275  ;  William,  7,  8,  34,  39. 
Woodman,  Julian  C,  329,  403. 
Woodward,  Charles  F.,  392  ;  Daniel 

R.,     228  ;      Frank    E.,    33,    420; 

George,    231  ;     Henry    W.,    451  ; 

Thomas  B.,  169. 
Wooldridge,    Edwin    D.,    247,  252  ; 

William,  336. 

Worcester,  Mass.,  104. 

Worth,  Ross,  418. 

Worthen,  Carrie  M.,  347;  James, 
283. 

Wortman,  Walter  W.,  164. 

Wright,  Rev.  M.Emery,  140;  Rev. 
S.  Osgood,  30,  86,  139,  381  ;  War- 
ren H.,  362. 

Wyoming,  28,  35,  36,  81,  151,  306, 
319,  406,  410;  Avenue,  47,  54,  55, 
63,  122,  181,  291,296,  303,  392,  405, 
410,  413,  432. 

Wyman,  George  W.,  244;  Weston, 
244;  William,  244. 

Yankton,  South  Dakota,  455. 

York,  Benjamin  F.,  244;  Josiah  R., 
244;  William  B.,  244. 

Youle  Street,  54,  106. 

Young,  Edward,  108  ;  Isaiah  A., 
224,  231 ;   Louis  A.,  257. 

Young  Men's  Catholic  Lyceum,  183. 

Young  Men's  Christian  Association, 
155,  173,  348,  351, 397, 403  ;  history 
of,  336-340;  its  Army  Christian 
Commission,  252,  253;  Woman's 
Auxiliary,  339  ;  Young  Men's 
Congress,  340. 


LIBRARY  OF  CONGRESS 


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